The matrix auction : a mechanism for the market-based coordination of enterprise networks

摘要

We argue that a network of shipping companies, that cooperatively executes transportation tasks, can be viewed as a special instance of a virtual enterprise. We propose the matrix auction as an efficient, incentive compatible allocation mechanism for virtual transportation enterprises. The implementation of the matrix auction in a multi-agent fleet scheduling system is described, and we were able to observe a significant improvement of the task allocation.