An important supply chain research problem is the bullwhip effect: demand fluctuations increase as one moves up the supply chain from retailer to manufacturer. It has been recognized that demand forecasting and ordering policies are two of the key causes of the bullwhip effect. In this paper we...

The bullwhip effect (BWE) describes a phenomenon that involves the increasing amplification of demand variability along a supply chain (SC). The BWE has been a subject that has received continuous attention from researchers over the past 15 years and is a concern for SC managers because it is a...

The aim of this paper is to quantify the benefit of demand and inventory smoothing in contrasting the extreme volatility and impetuous alteration of the market produced by the current economic recession. To do so we model a traditional supply chain and we test five settings of order smoothing...

This paper offers insights into how the bullwhip effect in two parallel supply chains with interacting price-sensitive demands is affected in contrast to the situation of a single product in a serial supply chain. In particular, this research studies two parallel supply chains, each consisting...

This research focuses on how two common modeling assumptions in the Bullwhip Effect (BWE) literature (i.e., assuming the return of the excess of goods and assuming a serial network) may distort the results obtained. We perform a robust design of experiments where the return condition (return vs....

The goal of this paper is to quantify the impact of Inventory Record Inaccuracy on the dynamics of collaborative supply chains, both in terms of operational performance (i.e. order and inventory stability), and customer service level. To do so, we model an Information Exchange Supply Chain under...

In this paper we analyze the strong sales dip observed in the manufacturing industry at the end of 2008, following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the subsequent collapse of the financial world. We suggest that firms׳ desire to retain liquidity during these times prompted a reaction...

In an upstream supply chain dedicated to the mass production of customized products, many sources create production instability: the level and structure of production in the final assembly line, variability of lead times, quality issues, packaging and loading constraints on transportation,...

In an upstream supply chain (USC) dedicated to the mass production of customized products, decentralized management is possible and performing in the steady state, if all the links that precede the final assembly line use periodic replenishment policies. These policies require appropriate safety...