Simulation in supply chains: An arena basis

The quest for global competitiveness brought about new business approaches, of which the supply chain has become an important entity during the last few years. With even more complex decision structures, demand variation and the need for evaluating alternatives within this frame, simulation and simulation-optimization have been identified as key decision-making tools. This paper briefly reviews the basic characteristics of supply chains, and illustrates that existing software may be integrated towards a supply chain simulator.