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End‐user demand information suffers from delay and distortion as it moves upstream in a supply chain. Co‐ordination between organisations in the supply chain, through sharing of demand information, is a possible solution to counter this distortion. Modelling and analysing supply chains, however, is not an easy task, as the supply chains contain multiple echelons and are faced with uncertain demand and lead‐times. For multi‐echelon supply chains adopting different inventory and forecasting policies at the echelon level, simulation is the most appropriate analysis tool. In this paper, we describe the development of a simulation workbench for modelling and analysing multi‐echelon supply chains. The workbench facilitates study of inventory and forecasting policies practised by the echelons, and models different information exchange mechanisms adopted by them. An experiment conducted, to test the workbench and demonstrate its capabilities, confirms that the workbench is a useful tool for gaining valuable insights into information exchange in a particular supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of batching on bullwhip effect in a model of multi‐echelon supply chain with information sharing.

The model uses the system dynamics and control theoretic concepts of variables, flows and feedback processes and is implemented using iThink^® software.

It has been seen that the relationship between batch size and demand amplification is non‐monotonic. Large batch sizes, that when combined in integer multiples can produce order rates that are close to the actual demand, produce little demand amplification, i.e. it is the size of the remainder of the quotient that is the determinant. It is further noted that the value of information sharing is greatest for smaller batch sizes, for which there is a much greater improvement in the amplification ratio.

Batching is associated with the inventory holding and backlog cost. Therefore, future work should investigate the cost implications of order batching in multi‐echelon supply chains.

This is a contribution to the continuing research into the bullwhip effect, giving supply chain operations managers and designers a practical way into controlling the bullwhip produced by batching across multi‐echelon supply chains.

Previous similar studies have used control theoretic techniques and it has been pointed out that control theorists are unable to solve the lot sizing problem. Therefore, system dynamic simulation has been applied to investigate the impact of various batch sizes on bullwhip effect.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of batching on bullwhip effect in a model of multi‐echelon supply chain with information sharing.

The model uses the system dynamics and control theoretic concepts of variables, flows, and feedback processes and is implemented using iThink^® software.

It has been seen that the relationship between batch size and demand amplification is non‐monotonic. Large batch sizes, when combined in integer multiples, can produce order rates that are close to the actual demand and produce little demand amplification, i.e. it is the size of the remainder of the quotient that is the determinant. It is further noted that the value of information sharing is greatest for smaller batch sizes, for which there is a much greater improvement in the amplification ratio.

Batching is associated with the inventory holding and backlog cost. Therefore, future work should investigate the cost implications of order batching in multi‐echelon supply chains.

This is a contribution to the continuing research into the bullwhip effect, giving supply chain operations managers and designers a practical way into controlling the bullwhip produced by batching across multi‐echelon supply chains. Economies of scale processes usually favor large batch sizes. Reducing batch size in order to reduce the demand amplification is not a good solution.

Previous similar studies have used control theoretic techniques and it has been pointed out that control theorists are unable to solve the lot sizing problem. Therefore, system dynamic simulation is then applied to investigate the impact of various batch sizes on bullwhip effect.

A number of approaches have been suggested in the literature for maintenance performance measurement, including use of the balanced scorecard (BSC). However, its application towards assessing maintenance contribution to business objectives is limited. Currently, a framework integrating maintenance activities in a supply chain environment is lacking in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to develop a maintenance performance measurement framework using BSC for multi echelon repair inventory systems (MERIS) comprising of modular electronic equipment. The paper also suggests a large number of performance measures/indicators (PMs/PIs) pertaining to both maintenance and supply chain components including a few BSC implementation issues for such types of supply chains.

The paper analyses a base model of a large maintenance organization and after carrying out SWOT analysis, identifies strategic themes/objectives for performance measurement. Performance measures for various objectives are identified for MERIS and implementation strategy including cascading of BSC is suggested. The developed performance measurement model is also validated using an action research (AR) based approach.

A performance measurement system (PMS) for MERIS using BSC approach has been developed and an implementation strategy suggested. AR methodology is used for developing BSC for an organization using the selected performance measures. The importance of cause‐effect relationships between various performance objectives and measures is also established.

Quantification of each of the developed PMs/PIs and establishing an effective information system for MERIS are the limitations of the present work and may be taken up for more research.

The paper will be useful for practitioners in the field of MERIS of electronic repairables wherein relevant PMs/PIs can be selected for implementation as per the requirement of the application.

The paper is of value by being original, as no work towards performance measurement of MERIS using BSC concept (as applicable for non‐profit organizations like military, government, NGOs etc) is reported in literature so far. The paper is relevant in this context and its contribution lies in the area of performance measurement.

The purpose of this paper is to study the behaviour of a food supply chain possessing two originalities, i.e. a singular structure (40‐day upstream push and 24‐hour downstream pull) and one that suffers from simultaneous fluctuations in raw material supply capacities (due to epizooty) and customer demand (due to customer anxieties and fears) caused by a sanitary crisis.

A simulation model based on the system dynamics principles of Forrester is developed and applied to the French chicken meat supply chain suffering an Avian Influenza crisis.

This model first enables one us to study the regulation mechanisms of the chain that will improve understanding of the supply chain behaviour under environmental perturbations. A what‐if analysis is then implemented to examine the supply chain stability and the influence of flexibility adjustment times, inventory coverage time, slaughtered chicken buffer size and smoothing policies on the supply chain performance in different crisis fluctuation rate scenarios in order to propose necessary logistic policy enhancements.

This work will improve one's knowledge about the buffer inventory problem and the global stability of this multi‐echelon push‐pull supply chain.

The model can be used as a decision system support which aims to minimise the additional costs due to stock level increases as demand decreases as well as exceptional external purchasing sparked by the lack of available products when there is a sudden hike in demand. The research can help decision‐makers of fresh food push‐pull supply chains when they are facing such crises by using both cybernetic representation and computer simulation.

This study deals with a specific food supply chain within the context of a sanitary crisis. A system dynamics model is presented for studying the behaviour of the entire food supply chain threatened by high uncertainties in the supply capacity as well as in customer demand.

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the effect of design parameters on the bullwhip effect and dynamic responses produced by a multi‐echelon supply chain with information sharing.

Taguchi design of experiments and system dynamics simulation are used to quantify the impact of a supply chain's design parameters, including degree of information sharing, on its dynamic performance, and the interactions that occur as the parameter values are varied.

Quantified relationships between supply chain design parameters and dynamic performance, including the bullwhip effect, are presented. Two parameters in particular, time to adjust inventory error and production lead time, are shown to have a particularly strong impact on the order variance compared to other parameters. However, there are several other significant findings.

Batching and capacity constraints are common causes of the bullwhip effect, but they are not included here. Future work should quantify the impact of these.

This paper presents a systematic way for quantifying and understanding the impact of supply chain design parameters on the bullwhip effect and dynamic responses, and their interactions. The experimental results provide practical understanding for supply chain managers.

Previous studies have identified causes of the bullwhip effect but little attention has been given to quantifying their impact and interactions. This paper makes a contribution towards filling this gap, using system dynamics simulation and Taguchi design of experiments.

Communication between supply chain partners is critical for replenishment decision making. Decision support systems still require significant human decision making with regard to replenishment when promotions are involved. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the sharing of information about the magnitude and timing of retail promotions on cost efficiency in the supply chain. The authors compare performance against theoretical benchmarks and draw conclusions significant to managers.

The subjects in Study 1, 30 undergraduate students at a large, US university, completed the experiment in a single session lasting approximately 60 minutes. The experiment involved a simple, multi‐period replenishment task, played as individuals, that was somewhat like the newsvendor game. Subjects in the experiment employed in Study 2 were senior‐level members of multiple departments from a large consumer products manufacturer in the USA. Participating departments included sales, operations, and supply chain. Self‐reported questionnaires revealed that the average subject had 15 years of experience with supply chain issues and seven years of experience with replenishment. The study was conducted in a single session, lasting approximately two hours, at the corporate headquarters of the participating company. In this experiment, 76 unique subjects participated.

Results from the single‐echelon study reveal the cost‐reducing effect of knowing the magnitude and timing of demand generated by a promotion. However, the poor performance, compared with the theoretical benchmarks, by respondents in the multi‐echelon study, even when the lead time per node is half that of the single‐echelon case and the subjects were experienced managers, highlights the complexity of the task that results from a lack of coordination.

Billions of dollars are spent on retail promotions each year. The management of the forecasting and replenishment of inventory for such promotions is difficult to automate and requires significant human decision making. The paper explores some key issues that are important in the replenishment decision‐making scenario when a promotion is involved.

Although the most obvious managerial recommendation for reducing the coordination and planning problems associated with promotions is simply to communicate more, the authors' research also suggests it may not be enough to alter performance. The results suggest that while communication is helpful, coordination may represent a more serious challenge.

Previous research has shown that firms are struggling to incorporate collaboration among supply chain partners. This paper presents a new approach to incorporate collaboration using metric-alignment. The analysis provides key insights regarding the usefulness of this approach to synchronize decision-making that leads to reduced bullwhip effect, less backordering and lower supply chain costs.

This research is based on a large-scale behavioral study comprising 556 participants in multi-echelon supply chain games. Supply chain decisions from these experiments are evaluated to study the impact of metric-alignment on managerial decision-making and the corresponding effects on the overall supply chain performance.

Results show that the metric-alignment approach offers an informal and self-enforced governance mechanism that changes managerial decision-making behaviors and improves supply chain performance. Results also show this approach to yield operational and financial benefits for all supply chain partners in the form of reduced bullwhip effect, less backordering and lower supply chain costs.

This is the first behavioral study of its kind that evaluates a new approach to incorporate collaboration in supply chains using metric-alignment. This approach avoids the shortcomings of current industry practices of using monetary penalties, such as on-time in-full (OTIF) mandates in supply contracts. The study shows that metric-alignment approach can improve overall supply chain performance while offering mutually beneficial rewards for all supply chain partners.

Supply chain traceability and supply chain visibility have become a critical element for the effective management of contemporary complex supply chains. At their core is information sharing, which has been acknowledged as a key prerequisite for logistics and supply chain performance, but whose notional underpinnings have not been delineated fully, leading to interchangeable deployment of these terms. Addressing the shortcoming, this paper aims to establish a contrast between the two notions.

Drawing from systematic review protocols, a multi-disciplinary review scope is constructed wherein the synthesis is strategized to primarily channel implications for the scholarship of logistics and supply chain management. The review is aimed at addressing two research objectives: (1) how the notions of traceability and visibility in supply chain management develop contrast in terms of their thematic emphasis and (2) to attain an integrative understanding of the notional convergence and divergence between supply chain traceability and visibility for raising strategic recommendations.

The review outcomes help contrast both the convergence and the divergence between traceability and visibility in the supply chain environment, and the differentiated but fundamental role that information sharing plays within these notions to outline why they are not interchangeable.

The originality of the findings lies in the conceptual synthesis of the relevant literature from both technological and non-technological perspectives to ultimately draw logistics and supply chain management implications. The review also points out key strategic considerations to demarcate the notional boundaries of traceability and visibility in future research.

In the paper, the authors study the simultaneous influence of incentive compatibility and individual rationality (IR) on a multi-echelon supply chain (SC) under uncertainty. The authors study the impact of contract sequence on coordination strategies of a serial three-echelon SC consisting of a supplier, a manufacturer and a retailer in an uncertain environment.

The authors develop a game-theoretic framework of a serial decentralized three-echelon SC. Under a decentralized setting, the supplier and the manufacturer can choose from two contract types namely, wholesale price (WP) and linear two-part tariff (LTT) and it leads to four different cases of contract sequence.

The study show that SC coordination is possible when both the supplier and the manufacturer choose LTT contract. This study not only identifies the influence of contract sequence on profit distribution among SC agents, but also establishes cut-off policies for all SC agents for each contract sequence. This study also examine the influence of chosen contract sequence on optimal profit distribution among SC agents.

Three-echelon SC coordination under uncertain environment depends upon the contract sequence chosen by SC agents.

This study results will be helpful to managers of various SCs to take operational decisions under uncertain situations.

The main contribution of this study is that it explores the possibility of coordination by supply contracts for three-echelon SC in a fuzzy environment.