A Computational Intelligence Approach to Supply Chain Demand Forecasting

The Supply Chain (SC) of both manufacturing and commercial enterprises comprises a highly distributed environment, in which complex processes evolve within a network of interacting companies. A typical SC includes different levels as shown in the diagram of Figure 1. As shown in this figure, and reading the diagram from right to left (“Customer Information Flow”), the first level of organization is “Sales” where products are sold to customers; the second level of organization is “Distribution” where products are delivered from in-house or 3PL (3rd Party Logistics) warehouses to retailers; the third organization level is “Storage” where products are stored in warehouses for future distribution; the fourth level of organization is “Production” where products are produced within plants according to determined production and inventory schedules; finally, the fifth organization level is “Supply” which comprises of the ABSTRACT