DEVS MODELING OF SELF ORGANIZED COMPANIES’ NETWORK Lynda MEKAOUCHE, Fouzia OUNNAR, Patrick PUJO, Norbert GIAMBIASI Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Information et des Systèmes (LSIS)Université Paul Cézanne Avenue Escadrille NormandieNiémen13397 Marseille Cedex 20 – France {lynda.mekaouche, fouzia.ounnar, patrick.pujo, norbert.giambiasi}@lsis.org Tel. (+33) 4 91 05 60 10 – Fax. (+33) 4 91 05 60 33 KEYWORDS: Self evaluation, customers-suppliers relationship, DEVS formalism. ABSTRACT The appearance of complex products on the market involved a change and an increase of complexity at the Customer/Supplier Relationship (CSR) level. Indeed, the company had recourse to outsourcing in order to ensure their survivals. Accordingly we present a new approach of the CSR, where the whole of the entities (customer/suppliers) are self organized in order to better answer to a given call for proposal launched by the customer, and in order to exploit the capacities of a supplier with better way. First, we describe the operation of the proposed approach. Then, we detail the DEVS modelling of self organized customers / suppliers. INTRODUCTION The efforts carried out in order to improve the production management were concentrated on the improvement of internal management within each company with an aim of better answering the customer needs. Indeed, the studies were multiplied in order to install tools allowing companies to achieve their goals in term of performance improvement and profiles maximization. Researches were focused on the times and cost reduction and the increase in the products diversity like their quality. Industries globalization, customer requirements evolution and appearance of complex products, allow companies to realize that the internal improvement is important but not sufficient. This deduction pushed researchers to go so further to prove that the integration of company into a network is essential (Brito and Roseira 2003)(Castelain et al 2003)(Cousins and Spekman 2003)(Faems and Van 2003)(Silvadasan et al 2001). Thus, the companies had recourse to outsourcing and externalization (Ounnar and Pujo 2001) in order to realize the complex products. Through the externalization phenomenon, companies tend to gather for the realization of a joint project. Indeed, company fits in a customers/suppliers network, forming thus a supply chain network in order to optimize it by satisfying the customer. With the appearance of this new form of organization, the research widened, the targeted objectives does not relate to only one company but must meet the whole corporate network. Accordingly, several topics were accosted, certain were focused on the co-operation between firms, noting that more recently, the agreements cooperation inter companies appeared as major form of valorization, competence, innovation capacity and reputation (Despontin et al 2002)(Telle 2003). Owing to the integration of the company into the network which generated the complexity of the Customer/Supplier Relationships (CSR), other studies were interested in the influence of these relations on costs inter organizational management (Brun and Staudacher 2000)(Harri 2002), durability of these relations (Alccouffe and Corrégé 2004), dynamics of these relations (Lauras 2004). At last, other studies were interested on modeling of corporate network and on setting up of methodologies allowing modeling of this type of network (Bisigniano and Palermo 2003)(Bruzzone 2002)(Burlat 2004) (Chen and al 2001) (Dong and Nagurney 2002)(Villa 1998) From these researches, we can conclude that the CSR control 1 is based on co-operation of various entities in order to achieve a common goal (Alvarez and Diaz 2004). This co-operation imposes integration of negotiation and communication means between companies. In other words, the development of the durable Customer/Supplier Relationships (CSR) depends on existing degree of confidence. Suggested solution in order to avoid any imbalance at the network is the implementation of the winning - winning principle. We attend these last years, to the appearance of industrial partnership relation. On this basis, we propose a new approach of CSR control by considering that the whole of the entities (customers/suppliers) partners communicating on the same medium of communication, negotiate to answer with the better way to the customers needs. In other words, to respond to Calls For Proposal (CFP) launched on the network by the customers, and to exploit suppliers’ capacities with the better way. We propose thus to provide each supplier with a decision-making centre: Autonomous Control Entity (ACE), which allows him to self evaluate his performance in order to be able to take part to negotiation within a self organized network. This centre allows a supplier to become an intelligent production unit able to operate in self organization with other companies with an aim of seeking the best response to a 1 Actions developed together in order to achieve common goals and react at a good moment to any dysfunction. Proceedings 19th European Conference on Modelling and Simulation Yuri Merkuryev, Richard Zobel, Eugène Kerckhoffs © ECMS, 2005 ISBN 1-84233-112-4 (Set) / ISBN 1-84233-113-2 (CD)