An argumentation-oriented multi-agent system for automating the freight planning process

► A multi-agent-based approach for cargo consolidation and route planning. ► Use of mobile agents for gathering weather and flight information automatically. ► A cost-based simulated annealing optimization engine for cargo consolidation. ► A fuzzy decision support system for risk evaluation on transportation routes. ► An argumentation mechanism for conflict resolution between agents. This paper advocates the use of multi-agent systems in the freight forwarding industry. We propose an intelligent mobile agent system to cope with a dynamic freight forwarding environment where up-to-date information is crucial but time-consuming to obtain. A key component of our system is an agent argumentation mechanism that allows decision support agents to discuss, argue, and come to a compromise in order to derive well-explained freight planning solutions. A number of artificial intelligence mechanisms are implemented, namely: (1) a mobile-agent-based automated information gathering mechanism, where designated mobile agents access various websites automatically to gather information (e.g., weather conditions on a candidate route) critical for cargo consolidation and route planning, (2) a fuzzy logics engine for risk evaluation, and (3) a simulated annealing engine for optimizing cargo consolidation. A system prototype is developed and the feasibility of our approach is demonstrated in a case study. A series of experiments are also conducted to evaluate the system’s performance.