Purpose – The aim of this article is to provide a concise methodology for the design of a widely used class of decision supply systems (DSS) which will enable precise control of bullwhip variance and inventory variance induced within a supply chain echelon. Design/methodology/approach – The...

Real world supply chains differ not only in their current standard of performance, but also in the most effective actions required to move each towards world class supply. A generic approach for the identification of the appropriate re‐engineering programmes based on the uncertainty circle...

Order volatility is an unfortunate fact of life facing most suppliers of both products and services. In this paper we are concerned with establishing the magnitude of the problem faced by the European automotive sector. The evidence has been acquired via the site-based Quick Scan Audit...

The Law of Industrial Dynamics ensures that if a production control system can amplify then it will surely find a way of doing so despite the best efforts of production schedulers to take corrective action. In fact, practical studies show that such human intervention frequently aggravates the...

Considers the dynamical effect of lateral emergency transhipments within a supply chain. It tests various different strategies for improving customer service via the MIT Beer Game. Four distinct strategies are considered. “Electronic point of sales (EPOS)”, where marketplace information is...

Purpose – The design of distribution networks is prone to risks due to the uncertainties associated with factors that change over time. The purpose of this paper is to present a new method to identify those factors that the structure of a distribution network is most sensitive to....