On the use of RFID in the management of reusable containers in closed-loop supply chains under stochastic container return quantities

This paper studies a closed-loop supply chain that uses containers for transporting products from a supplier to a retailer. At the retailer, used containers are collected and returned to the supplier. The supplier inspects returned containers, and either repairs and reuses or disposes them. This paper studies the case where the fraction of containers that are returned to the supplier is stochastic, and where an RFID system can be used to support the tracking of container positions in the supply chain. The use of RFID leads to improved information on the return of containers and better return predictability as well as higher return rates, which we model as an increase in the mean return rate of containers and a reduction in return variance. The paper first develops a mathematical planning model for this scenario, and it then studies how the use of RFID impacts the performance of the system. In addition, it analyzes under which conditions the use of RFID is economical, and in which situations traditional container systems should be preferred.     

Uncertainty propagation in a supply chain or supply network

A supply chain is characterized by uncertain demands (demand-side uncertainty) and uncertainties associated with the performances of the production facilities (supply-side uncertainty). In this paper, a method is proposed to plan production in a supply chain with a multi-echelon supply process with unreliable production facilities working in markets with uncertain demand. In such a system it is necessary to consider the global and cumulative effects on the performance of the entire supply chain. We introduce the salient features of uncertainty propagation in supply chains and demonstrate their impact quantitatively using a test problem from the automotive industry.     

An integrated vendor–buyer model with stock-dependent demand

We develop an integrated vendor–buyer model for a two-stage supply chain. The vendor manufactures the product and delivers it in a number of equal-sized batches to the buyer. The items delivered are presented to the end customers in a display area. Demand is assumed to be positively dependent on the amount of items displayed. The objective is to maximize total supply chain profit. The numerical analysis shows that buyer–vendor coordination is more profitable in situations when demand is more stock dependent. It also shows that the effect of double marginalization provides a link between the non-coordinated and the coordinated case.     

Fault tolerance modeling for an e-waste recycling supply chain

This paper applies a fault-tolerant method that addresses the problem of steady fulfillment in an e-waste recycling supply chain. Due to the double-ended fluctuations in this supply chain, conventional, optimization based, model predictive control cannot be applied without proper improvement. This paper contributes to the e-waste management literature in the initiation of prudent demand management. The inventory management problem is investigated for a double-ended fluctuation for the e-waste recycling supply chain. It is found that the risk-sensitive predictive control method allows all members to retain a constant inventory level, for which the control target is unclear and the demand fluctuation is high.     

Marrying supply chain sustainability and resilience: A match made in heaven

Sustainable supply chain management has become an integral part of corporate strategy for virtually every industry. However, little is understood about the broader impacts of sustainability practices on the capacity of the supply chain to tolerate disruptions. This article aims to explore the sustainability–resilience relationship at the supply chain design level. A multi-objective optimization model featuring a sustainability performance scoring method and a stochastic fuzzy goal programming approach is developed that can be used to perform a dynamic sustainability tradeoff analysis and design a “resiliently sustainable” supply chain. Important managerial and practical insights are obtained from an empirical case study.     

Investigating the impact of demand amplification on freight transport

Despite freight transport operations being influenced by supply chain dynamics, there has been only a very limited investigation into the impact of demand amplification on this function, with almost no analytical research. This paper aims, through spreadsheet simulation of a generic production control system, to quantify the impact of demand amplification on transport performance. Performance measures evaluated include both transport cost and efficiency. The results in general find a negative relationship between transport performance and demand amplification. It is also found that the ratio of vehicle capacity to average demand affects these results.     

Global supply chain design: A literature review and critique

In this paper, we review decision support models for the design of global supply chains, and assess the fit between the research literature in this area and the practical issues of global supply chain design. The classification scheme for this review is based on ongoing and emerging issues in global supply chain management and includes review dimensions for (1) decisions addressed in the model, (2) performance metrics, (3) the degree to which the model supports integrated decision processes, and (4) globalization considerations. We conclude that although most models resolve a difficult feature associated with globalization, few models address the practical global supply chain design problem in its entirety. We close the paper with recommendations for future research in global supply chain modeling that is both forward-looking and practically oriented.     

Multistage optimization of the supply chains of biofuels

In this study, a mathematical model that integrates spatial and temporal dimensions is developed for strategic planning of future bioethanol supply chain systems. The planning objective is to minimize the cost of the entire supply chain of biofuel from biowaste feedstock fields to end users over the entire planning horizon, simultaneously satisfying demand, resource, and technology constraints. This model is used to evaluate the economic potential and infrastructure requirements for bioethanol production from eight waste biomass resources in California as a case study. It is found that, through careful supply chain design, biowaste-based ethanol production can be sustained at a compatible cost around $1.1 per gallon.     

Freight transport network design using particle swarm optimisation in supply chain–transport supernetwork equilibrium

This paper presents a discrete network design problem for optimally designing freight transport network in terms of the efficiency of supply chain. Modelling is undertaken within the framework of mathematical programmes with equilibrium constraints, which first incorporates both supply chain and transport networks explicitly. The upper level determines the best set of actions for transport network improvement, while the lower-level decision is based on a supply chain–multimodal transport supernetwork equilibrium. New variants of particle swarm optimisation are developed to approximately solve the upper level. Numerical tests reveal their superior performance and the effective freight transport-related actions.     

改善多级供应链订货量波动的传递函数分析

分析供应链中各节点企业订货的动态过程,建立各企业订货量的离散时域模型并通过Z-变换,将离散时域订货量模型转换为以需求量为输入、订货量为输出的传递函数模型,说明企业订货量随需求量变化而波动的过程.比较信息共享前后企业订货量的波动情况,了解信息共享改善供应链订货量波动的程度.     

Managing ethics in the tourism supply chain: the case of Chinese travel to Australia

The purpose of this paper was to provide clues to the industry and the academia on how best to approach the challenge of managing ethics in the tourism supply chain. To achieve this objective, the paper provided a case study of how the Australian government has responded to concerns about unethical practices in the tourism supply chain from China to Australia. A series of best practice recommendations were provided following a review of both the demand side and the supply side processes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling and optimizing the integrated problem of closed-loop supply chain network design and disassembly line balancing

This paper describes an integrated model that jointly optimizes the strategic and tactical decisions of a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC). The strategic level decisions relate to the amounts of goods flowing on the forward and reverse chains. The tactical level decisions concern balancing disassembly lines in the reverse chain. The objective is to minimize costs of transportation, purchasing, refurbishing, and operating the disassembly workstations. A nonlinear mixed integer programming formulation is described for the problem. Numerical examples are presented using the proposed model.     

Production smoothing in a serial supply chain: A laboratory investigation

The purpose of this paper is to examine production smoothing in supply chains. Using the controlled setting of the laboratory, we systematically investigate supply chain features that lead to production smoothing. In contrast to prior laboratory studies of the bullwhip effect, we find that the bullwhip effect disappears in several of our experiments. More importantly, our study shows that when customer demand has a predictable seasonal component, retailers smooth orders. This behavior is more pronounced when changing order levels is costly. The results demonstrate how simplifying the structure of the supply chain leads to production smoothing behavior.     

Industrial space demand and freight transportation activity: exploring the connection

There has been continuing interest among transportation planners, economic development specialists, and private industry about the relationship between the demand for industrial space and the level of freight transportation activity. With the growing importance of logistics and supply chain economics for many industrial and business activities, firms organizing their industrial activities and locating their warehousing and operational centers increasingly must consider the availability, quality, and cost of a range of transportation services, particularly in connection with essential intermodal activities. Accordingly, development of major logistics parks in conjunction with major intermodal hubs has become an important element in the overall industrial economy, predicated on the notion that robust freight activity is a good indicator of demand for industrial space. In this study, using regression techniques, we examine the relationship between freight transportation activity and industrial space demand at the metropolitan area level. The results confirm this relationship, reflecting significant statistical association between higher levels of freight traffic and higher levels of industrial space demand. This relationship is more pronounced in inland versus port markets. In addition, the data reveal that there was a shock to industrial space demand in 2001, thereby altering the structural relationship between demand and the drivers of demand.     

VLC虚拟供应链的建构

虚拟物流中心(VLC)对传统实物供应链实施了有效的变革,构建了以信息整体管理为特征的矩阵型虚拟供应链。VLC充分集成资源、功能和技术,建立企业功能交换市场和实现业务流程的重组与创新,通过供应链的虚拟化变革、柔性化变革和协同化变革,实现了信息链控制的多端口、多层次平行运作的矩阵型虚拟供应链的建构,从而完成供应链的整体创新。     

Concurrent design of product family and supply chain network considering quality and price

We study the problem of concurrent design of a product family and its supply chain (SC) network. Inspired by a real-life case in computer industry, the impact of quality and price in SC demand is investigated. Two different models are proposed, the former maximizes the company’s profit with respect to customers’ priorities on quality and price; the latter is a bi-objective programming, which consider two extreme customer groups: for one group quality has the highest priority and for the other price; the intermediate groups falls between these two. The performance of the models is analyzed through a case problem.     

The equilibrium of closed-loop supply chain supernetwork with time-dependent parameters

In this paper, we develop a closed-loop supply chain supernetwork model including suppliers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers at demand market, in which the demand for product is seasonal (t), and the sensitivity (w) of demand to price is another key factor which effects consumers’ demand. Moreover, the manufacturers invest the reverse distribution channel for incenting consumers to return more used products. Based on the Evolutionary Variational Inequalities (EVI) theory and Projected Dynamical Systems (PDS), the equilibrium condition of closed-loop supply chain is formulated, and the model is verified reasonably by numerical example.     

Comparing strategies for addressing delivery shortages in stochastic demand settings

In logistics networks involving one supply point (depot) and several geographically dispersed demand points (e.g., retail stores), delivery shortages will result if the design of delivery routes ignores random period-to-period fluctuations in customer demands. Delivery shortages may be costly enough for the depot to seek strategies to prevent them. A requirement for rational comparison of strategies is quantifying their effects on total supply chain costs. Accurate distance prediction models are developed to help satisfy this prerequisite for the transportation cost element. These models are integrated into a comparison of strategies on the basis of how these strategies affect inventory and transportation. The focus of findings from the comparison involves identifying the information cost thresholds for accepting/rejecting a demand-responsive strategy. The study's implications for choosing a strategy are presented. ©     

The influence of greening the suppliers and green innovation on environmental performance and competitive advantage in Taiwan

Recently, many companies have recognized the concepts of green supply chain management or supply chain environmental management. However, relatively little research attention has been devoted to the consideration of relations between greening the supply chain, green innovation, environmental performance and competitive advantage. Hence, this paper aims to bridge this gap by providing empirical evidence to encourage companies to implement green supply chain and green innovation in order to improve their environmental performance, and to enhance their competitive advantage in the global market. A model is constructed to link the aforementioned constructs. Data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey across 124 companies from eight industry sectors in Taiwan. The data are analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling and the results from the final measurement model are used to evaluate the structural model that verifies the significance of the proposed relationships. A prominent result of this study is that greening the supplier through green innovation contributes significant benefits to the environmental performance and competitive advantage of the firm.     

Dynamic electric power supply chains and transportation networks: An evolutionary variational inequality formulation

In this paper, we develop a static electric power supply chain network equilibrium model with known demands and establish the equivalence between the model and a transportation network equilibrium model with fixed demands over an appropriately constructed supernetwork. This equivalence yields a new interpretation of electric power supply chain network equilibria in path flows. We then exploit this equivalence to propose a dynamic electric power supply chain network model in which the demand varies over time using an evolutionary variational inequality formulation. Finally, we demonstrate how numerical dynamic electric power supply chain network problems can be solved utilizing recently obtained theoretical results in the unification of evolutionary variational inequalities and projected dynamical systems.