Simulation of Supply Chain Networks with Graph-Based Multi-Agent Systems for Education

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering


MPhil Thesis Defence


Title: "Simulation of Supply Chain Networks with Graph-Based Multi-Agent 
Systems for Education"

By

Miss Yanjia LI


Abstract:

Supply chain management is a fundamental course for university students to 
understand the dynamics of the business world. It encompasses business 
operations, collaborative and competitive behaviors among companies, ripple 
effects on regional markets and more. Students often explore the supply chain 
dynamics in a simulated environment. However, existing educational tools for 
supply chain simulation fail to effectively model the nature of supply chain 
networks or lack the interactivity required for effective learning. To 
address these limitations, I propose an interactive multi-agent system to 
enhance in-context learning of supply chain dynamics. In my framework, each 
business entity in the supply chain is modeled as a Large Language Model 
(LLM) agent, and the supply chain network is represented as a graph. To 
ensure context awareness while avoiding overwhelming agents with excessive 
information, a relevant subgraph is first retrieved for each agent. Then LLMs 
and Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) are integrated to encode both semantic and 
topological information within the subgraph. Additionally, agents' 
decision-making is formulated as graph-based question answering (QA) tasks, 
focusing on critical factors within the supply chain network, with 
pretraining applied to improve performance. An interactive visual interface 
further enhances learning by allowing users to explore, experiment, and 
control entities within the network. Experiments demonstrate that the 
proposed model outperforms baselines in understanding supply chain context, 
while a user study highlights the system's engaging and flexible learning 
experience.


Date:                   Monday, 18 August 2025

Time:                   9:00am - 11:00am

Venue:                  Room 3494
                        Lifts 25/26

Chairman:               Dr. Xiaomin OUYANG

Committee Members:      Prof. Huamin QU (Supervisor)
                        Dr. Jia LIU (Co-supervisor, MARK)
                        Prof. Raymond WONG