Supply chain decisions information

Location of plants, warehouses, distribution centers (DCs), manufacturing quantities, order dates, inventory policies, and transportation related decisions are very important for supply chain success. Information system employed for the supply chain is also a key in successful implementations. These decision problems need to be elaborated in detail. 

Integration between decision modeling and the supply chain management information system... 

Different types of information systems are used in supply chain management. Information systems involved in supply chain configuration decision-making support and implementation can be classified as follows ... 

The supply chain consists of interrelated units each possessing their own supply chain management information systems and decision support systems, where the former are mainly used for supply chain execution, and the latter for planning and decision-making at various levels of supply chain management (Fig. 10.1). One of the units or their group is considered as a focal supply chain unit, which drives the supply chain configuration initiative. 

In a typical supply chain, decisions at each stage are based on information received from its immediate suppliers and customers (decentralized information). Thus, each stage makes locally optimal decisions. In such a system, customer order information can become distorted, becoming lumpy as it moves upstream. This is also known as the BuUwhip effect. As mentioned earlier, Lee et al. (1997) mathematically established the bullwhip effect in a decentralized supply chain with no information sharing. 

Huang, B., and Iravani, S. M. R. 2007. Optimal production and rationing decisions in supply chains with information sharing. Operations Research Letters 35 669-676. Huh, W. T., and Janakiraman, G. 2010. On the optimal policy structure in serial inventory systems with lost sales. Operations Research 58 486-491. 

All supply chain decisions made before demand has materialized are made to a forecast. In this chapter, we explain how historical demand information can be used to forecast future demand and how these forecasts affect the supply chain. We describe several methods to forecast demand and estimate a forecast s accuracy. We then discuss how these methods can be implemented using Microsoft Excel. 

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