Analysis of a Three-Stage Supply Chain with Level Constraints

Abstract

Many companies have enjoyed a significant success due to the unique ways in which they have organized their supply chains, which are one of the best ways to compete in today's marketplaces. For make-to-stock production systems the production plans and activities are based on demand forecasting. This is one of the key causes of the bullwhip effect. The bullwhip effect (BE) is the inherent increase in demand fluctuation up the supply chain. In the paper we experimented (by simulating) with a special case of a simple three-stage supply chain using seasonal and deseasonalized time series of the market demand data in order to identify, illustrate and discuss the impacts of different level constraints on the BE. The results are presented for different overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and constrained inventory policies. At higher OEE level there is less variability in production processes, but at inventory limitations the impact is more complex.

Inventory Control System Based on Control Charts to Improve Supply Chain Performances

“…In this model, we have considered the safety stock by extending the lead-time by k i [15,18] so that i t S can be reformulated as shown below in eq. (11). This is similar to what we have done with the centreline of the inventory position control chart.…”

“…This trade-off needs robust replenishment systems to balance the inventory and production costs whilst ensuring a customer service level [9]. Exhaustive research has been conducted to study the impact of various ordering policies on bullwhip effect, and to develop replenishment rules that can avoid the bullwhip effect [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. In particular, extensive research has been focusing on developing smoothing ordering polices that are modified from the order-up-to policy with adding proportional controllers to restrict overreaction/underreaction to demand changes [17][18][19][20].…”

Numerical Solution of the Inventory Balance Delay Differential Equation

“…If delays in supplies are long, this might result in a significant increase in inventory, which is unwelcome [6]. Therefore, it is advisable to include equation (4) in the model, which adds constraints allowing for the suspension of any replenishment if its level exceeds the required value [12,[18][19].…”

“…A range of studies on inventory management in retail have been carried out, taking into account different aspects (e.g., see [2][3][4][5]). …”

Mobile Application as an Innovative Supply Chain Concept and the Impact of Social Capital

“…The linking of the different data and systems allows highly personalised, flexible and individually composed production processes. Thus, a small company can become part of a virtual factory and a flexible cooperative network [18][19][20][21][22].…”