Using mobile agents to improve the alignment between manufacturing and its IT support systems

This paper proposes the notion that Mobile Agent Technology can improve the alignment between IT systems and the real world processes they support. This can aid enterprise agility, particularly where distributed information is a feature, as in the virtual enterprise. A model of the manufacturing Sales/Order process is proposed. The sales order is shown to be a naturally mobile element of the model. The subsequent decomposition of the agent types during detailed design and implementation reveals an abstract pattern for database query using agent technology. Finally, an overview of the security issues associated with mobile agents is discussed.