Article ID: | iaor19992978 |
Country: | Netherlands |
Volume: | 109 |
Issue: | 2 |
Start Page Number: | 299 |
End Page Number: | 309 |
Publication Date: | Sep 1998 |
Journal: | European Journal of Operational Research |
Authors: | Petrovic Dobrila, Petrovic Radivoj, Roy Rajat |
Keywords: | inventory, fuzzy sets, simulation, supply |
This paper describes fuzzy modelling and simulation of a supply chain (SC) in an uncertain environment, as the first step in developing a decision support system. An SC is viewed as a series of facilities that performs the procurement of raw material, its transformation to intermediate and end-products, and distribution and selling of the end-products to customers. All the facilities in the SC are coupled and interrelated in a way that decisions made at one facility affect the performance of others. SC fuzzy models and a simulator cover operational SC control. The objective is to determine the stock levels and order quantities for each inventory in an SC during a finite time horizon to obtain an acceptable delivery performance at a reasonable total cost for the whole SC. Two sources of uncertainty inherent in the external environment in which the SC operates were identified and modelled: customer demand and external supply of raw material. They were interpreted and represented by fuzzy sets. In addition to the fuzzy SC models, a special SC simulator was developed. The SC simulator provides a dynamic view of the SC and assesses the impact of decisions recommended by the SC fuzzy models on SC performance.