Analysing Different Ordering Policies in a Series Supply Chain by Using Coloured Petri Nets

The flow of products and information within supply chain networks is an important consideration for practitioners. Simulation tools provide an efficient approach for analysing and validating dynamic systems such as supply chains, where distorted information and poor product management often lead to uncertainty and to instability phenomena. This paper considers the case of a series decentralised supply chain model using Timed Coloured Petri nets (or Timed CP-nets) and analyses the impact of various continuous inventory policies and known forecasting methods followed by supply chain participants. CPN Tools [12] are used for the design of decision-making processes and simulation results are presented to highlight the main issues arising in real systems and to provide insights for future work on modelling and simulation of supply chains. Keywords— Supply chain management, Hierarchical coloured Petri Nets, Inventory control, Forecasting