Performance simulation of supply chain designs

The focus on supply chain management has increased in recent years; among academics as well as among practitioners. In this paper, we present a supply chain simulation study for a real case, concerned with the manufacturing of mobile communication systems. The purpose of the study is twofold. One objective is to evaluate alternative supply chain designs with respect to quality, lead-times and costs as the key performance parameters. A second objective is to increase the understanding of the interrelationships among these and other parameters, relevant for the design of the supply chain structure. The design alternatives differ in terms of the level of integration and synchronisation between supply chain stages. Modelling and validation issues are highlighted since these are fundamental to a supply chain simulation study. The results are discussed and a model capturing the relationships among cost, quality, and lead-times, based on the simulation study, is presented.