Abstract: A mathematical model for a virtual enterprise production plan was established based on a reasonable abstract virtual enterprise model and the task model. A scheduling algorithm which aims at the dual optimization of time and cost was proposed. Two heuristic optimization algorithms are proposed and the output is used as the initial chromosome of a genetic algorithm. The genetic algorithm is redefined to optimize the scheduling of the virtual enterprise’s production planning. Hence the global searching and local minimum avoidance capabilities of genetic algorithms are exploited to improve the global optimization capacity of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology to combine the heuristic optimization algorithm with genetic algorithm is capable of reducing production cost and promoting agile manufacturing.

Key words: virtual enterprise, production planning, genetic algorithm, dynamic critical path, minimum cost