Activity Overview
Specific activities
- Problem definition and target use case examination
- Development of solution architectures and elemental technologies to solve problems
- Implementation of Proof of Concept (PoCs) for the purpose of problem solving and social implementation
- Examination of system linkage method, international standardization activities of specifications
- Personal network formation and Information network formation
(study group meeting, presentation meeting and consultation meeting)
Activity Contents
Activities are conducted on a per-WG (Working Group) basis.
Each WG activities are as follows,
Manufacturing WG/example of parts procurement adjustment
Adjustment example: A logistics service company will add new additional requests for planned joint delivery, secure new trucks with large capacity, revise routes, and adjust arrival times for berth bookings according to the route.
AI makes individual adjustments at logistics service company.
Logistics WG/example of air cargo space allocation
Adjustment example: When a shipper makes a ship request, the shipper requests price and conditions estimation to multiple forwarders. For allocating reserved space on the airline to the request, each Forwarder will secure spot slots and request other shippers to consider delays delivery so that Forwarder’s customer can get required delivery slots.
AI takes a role of the Forwarder.
Logistics WG/joint delivery
Adjustment example: A logistics service company will add new additional requests for planned joint delivery, secure new trucks with large capacity, revise routes, and adjust arrival times for berth bookings according to the route.
AI makes individual adjustments at logistics service company.
Data Circulation WG/Streamlining Coordination and Enabling the Flow of Data Itself
Target State
→Shorten the time from sourcing to provisioning and improve the efficiency of data exchange.
→Increase the speed and precision of supply-demand coordination and help make transactions in data usage rights a reality.
①Data circulation across the supply chain
- Go beyond traditional delivery-date and price information by collecting environmental data such as CFP from upstream tiers and using it in procurement decisions.
- Feed downstream constraints back upstream, enabling cross-organizational supply-demand coordination and plan revisions.
- By operating on a common framework across national and corporate boundaries, enable data to be shared in a form that can be put to use immediately while preserving data sovereignty and security.
②Turning data into a tradable asset (an applied transaction model)
- Enable contracts over data usage rights under multidimensional terms such as permitted use, term, SLA, and price.
Common WG/outline of eNegotiation
- Lots of message exchange for adjustment in logistics and manufacturing industry
- Replace mail, telephone and fax with EDI so that RPA and AI can use.
- Proposed eNegotiation Project to UN/CEFACT(United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business)
ーUN/CEFACT：
ーSIPS：
http://www.caos-a.co.jp/SIPS/index.html
ーE-Negotiation：
https://uncefact.unece.org/display/uncefactpublic/E+Negotiation - This project was officially adopted in October 2020. This project is planned to be active until the first half of 2022.
- The activity is to formulate a standard for the EDI (Electronic Data Exchange) of negotiations currently conducted by e-mail, telephone, fax, etc.
- Through EDI in accordance with the standard, negotiation transactions by people, RPA, and AI can be interconnected and interoperated between even independently developed systems.
Applying standard protocols
Applicable area(Scope)
- Mainly applied to communication and messaging in negotiation operations in the manufacturing and logistics industries
- Specifically, standard protocols are applied to adjustments such as delivery time, quantity, and price.
Application flow Step
- Select operations that apply standard protocols Step
- Define the messages of the operation flow in the standard protocol
For more information on how to apply standard petrocol, please refer to the following documents.
- BRS (Business Requirement Specification):
Describe requirements such as the scope of the standard protocol and processing procedures - Implementation Guide：Coming soon
Guidelines for implementing standard protocols
Common WG/
DTC (Digital Twin Consortium) Activities
●What is DTC (Digital Twin Consortium)?
A non-profit organization that promotes digital twin technologies from a vendor-neutral standpoint, enhances interoperability, and expands the market.
DTC portal page: https://www.digitaltwinconsortium.org/
●Activity Status
- Proposed and accepted the “Automated Negotiation with Digital Twins and MAGs Testbed” (May 2025).
https://www.digitaltwinconsortium.org/initiatives/digital-twin-testbeds/automated-negotiation-digital-twins-mags/ - Continuously reporting testbed progress and demonstrating Negotiation AI technologies at quarterly meetings.
Common WG/
organizing ANAC SCM league
- Since 2019, the Automated Negotiation Agent Competition(ANAC) has been held annually, featuring an SCM league where negotiation technologies compete.
- Simulation of a supply chain environment in a virtual economy world, where raw materials are purchased and intermediate goods and products are sold.
- Participants submit negotiation AI agents that represent manufacturers. The AI agents negotiate contracts for buying and selling components and products, and the agent that achieves the maximum profit after a fixed period is the winner. ＜Objectives＞
- To provide a common benchmark for designing, evaluating, and comparing automated negotiation agents in a realistic supply chain setting.
- To promote research on negotiation strategies, decision-making, and profit maximization.
- The number of participating teams increased from 8 teams in the first year (2019) to 20 teams (65 entries) in 2025.
Portal page of the league: https://scml.cs.brown.edu/