Agent Based Simulation of Sale and Manufacturing Agents Acting Across a Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Abstract

Agent based modeling and simulation consider the behavior of agents acting in a system. The agents' interactions result in changing the agent's behavior, the whole agent based system, and its environment. In this study, the manufacturing, sale, and receiving orders behaviors pertinent to manufacturing and sale agents acting across a pharmaceutical supply chain of an Iranian manufacturing medicine (as a case) are simulated. The departments related to these two agents have some problems affecting the entire supply chain; the results are interpreted based on agile, lean, and green paradigms. During the research, three medicines were selected and the related data were gathered. Then, mathematical modeling and regression analysis (in some parts) were applied. Next, a computer model was composed on matrix library environment (MATLAB). Finally, four scenarios were simulated. According to the information resulted from simulating the first scenario, none of supply chains pertaining to each medicine is agile. Based on the findings of simulating the second scenario, decreasing waste leads the non-antibiotic medicine supply chain to move toward the lean and green paradigms more. According to the third scenario, although more order requests can be fulfilled by increasing production capacity, the supply chain will not become agile. The last scenario's goal is checking the possibility of receiving 145000 units' orders for the non-antibiotic medicine which should be prepared during next 70 days while the company confronts lack of raw material and the suppliers are domestic; based on the results, the order will be rejected due to lack of time.