Using Control Theory to Explore the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain for a Deteriorating

The bullwhip effect phenomena in supply chain management were discussed a lot in the literatures. Most of them provided empirical evidences or analytical formulas to demonstrate the existence of the bullwhip effect in a simple two or more echelons supply chain. This paper will explore the phenomena in a quite different situation: a supply chain with deteriorating products. Unlike the conventional statistical or time series approaches, the control theory methodology was used to investigate the bullwhip effect of deteriorating products. It shows that the bullwhip effect was demonstrated effectively by using the control theory approach. The bullwhip effect could be reduced if the deterioration rate is high.