A framework for virtual enterprise control with the holonic manufacturing paradigm

Holonic manufacturing is a highly distributed control paradigm based on a kind of autonomous and cooperative entity called "holon". It can both guarantee performance stability, predictability and global optimization of hierarchical control, and provide flexibility and adaptability of heterarchical control. A virtual enterprise (VE) is a temporary coalition of distributed, autonomous and cooperative member enterprises (MEs) and its organizational architecture has typical features of holonic systems. In this paper, we present some studies on the application of the holonic manufacturing paradigm to virtual enterprise control. A holonic framework for virtual enterprises is first proposed and control mechanisms of virtual enterprises under this framework are then discussed. Virtual enterprise control considered in this paper can provide flexibility and adaptability of heterarchical control, reacting to changes and disturbances agilely. It also preserves stability of hierarchical control, having the ability to guarantee stability, predictability and global optimization of the system performance. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.