We consider customer response time minimization in a two-echelon supply chain system with stochastic demand where the first echelon consists of one production plant and the other of one retailer. Traditionally models of this type only seek to minimize traditional operating costs. However, because of the highly competitive nature of the market, it is also essential for the manufacturer to respon...

In this paper, for effective multi-echelon supply chains under stochastic and fuzzy environments, an inventory management framework and deterministic/stochastic-neuro-fuzzy cost models within the context of this framework are structured. Then, a numerical application in a three-echelon tree-structure chain is presented to show the applicability and performance of proposed framework. It can be s...

This paper establishes a new price-sensitive demand model which considers stochastic disturbance similar to ARMA(1,1) model. We examine the impact of two forecasting methods on the bullwhip effect in a two-stage supply chain with two retailers. It is assumed that two retailers face the same demand model and an order-up-to inventory policy is employed. The lead-time demand is forecasted respecti...

Determining the optimum number of suppliers and the optimum quantities to order from each of them is a critical problem for any supply chain. This paper has mathematically arrived at conditions to identify the appropriate sourcing strategy in a multi-period scenario for a stochastic supply and a stochastic demand environment. It has also obtained the total order quantity, optimum number of supp...

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is focused on developing, optimizing, and operating efficient supply chains. Efficient supply chains are characterized by cost effective decisions, lean flow and structure, high degree of integration, and well-chosen Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Although there exists a large body of literature on optimizing individual supply chain elements (transportation, di...

The supply chain is a worldwide network of suppliers, factories, warehouses, distribution centers, and retailers through which raw materials are acquired, transformed, and delivered to customers. In recent years, a new software architecture for managing the supply chain at the tactical and operational levels has emerged. It views the supply chain as composed of a set of intelligent software age...

The multi-level supply chain consists on different levels of interveners containing warehouses, distribution centers, retailers, etc. In fact, it is reciprocal relationship between storage costs and transportation costs. The problem is how to optimize the combined costs of the storage and the transportation of the products across all the nodes of the supply chain. Model predictive control (MPC)...