The issues underlying the appropriate matching of pipelines to marketplace needs under conditions of demand volatility and price pressure are examined. The authors describe a scenario where the philosophy of “one size fits all” does not apply to pipeline design, implementation, and control....

Successful re‐engineering programs to improve supply chain performance possess three important attributes: a vision which clearly identifies future goals; a framework with clearly defined stages forming a route map; and, a toolkit which provides a means for enhancing the individual processes...

A review of electronics product based supply chains is presented. This naturally leads to the development of a “reference framework” for electronic products supply chains. It is used as a foundation for the analysis of a typical supply chain for a personal computer. Attention is focused on...

The “Law of Industrial Dynamics” is a well‐known phenomenon which leads to significant swings in demand as orders are passed down along a supply chain. Large fluctuations in demand result for the manufacturer leading to policies which counteract the objectives of materials logistics...

The use of pipeline feedback to ensure good control of material flow systems has been developed over the years on a pragmatic basis. More recently, the mechanism by which the improved control is achieved has been the subject of theoretical analysis. In turn, this has led to recommendations for...

Traditional supply chains can greatly amplify changes in end‐customer demand and thereby produce their own internally generated boom‐and‐bust scenarios. Improvement in supply chain performance is often greatly separated by time (many months) and distance (many miles) from the action taken...

Traditionally, the decoupling point methodology has been associated with the material flow pipeline. However, to maximize improvement in supply chain dynamics, information flow is equally important. Many of the problems exhibited in the material flow pipeline are the result of the distortion of...