Mobile agent technology in support of sales order processing in the virtual enterprise

The flexible integration of a range of disparate IT applications is a key requirement for today's global enterprises. The virtual enterprise, formed by a collection of collaborating companies for short term, high return, one off projects provides perhaps the most extreme example of this need. It is unlikely that any collaborators in a virtual enterprise will have similar networks or software, but the requirement exists for them to inter-operate. This paper proposes the notion that Mobile Agent Technology can be a significant aid to enterprise agility, particularly where distribution of information is a feature, as in virtual enterprises. The implications of using Java and its facilities for database connectivity (JDBC) together with mobile agent environments are discussed before a model to fulfil the requirements of the manufacturing Sales/Order process is proposed. The model used in the process has been produced with data collected from an industrial case study. The subsequent decomposition of the Agent types involved reveals an abstract pattern for database query using agent technology. Finally, the tools required by an enterprise wishing to utilise agent technology are discussed.