Article ID: | iaor2016132 |
Volume: | 14 |
Issue: | 1 |
Start Page Number: | 37 |
End Page Number: | 50 |
Publication Date: | Jan 2016 |
Journal: | Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education |
Authors: | Bailey Matthew D, Chen Chun-Miin (Jimmy) |
Keywords: | supply & supply chains, retailing, simulation: applications |
To determine the appropriate level of product availability, most operations management textbooks introduce and define service level measures in a Business‐to‐Customer context. In other words, a retailer that wants to measure product availability in their store calculates the fill rate (FR) or cycle service level over an infinite review horizon. However, in a Business‐to‐Business (B2B) context, a retailer almost always calculates the FR or compliance level over a finite review horizon. The goal of this article is to highlight calculations of service level measures in a B2B context. Pedagogically, it presents in‐class activities that use standard playing cards and/or a spreadsheet simulation that allow students to experientially learn about service level measures in a B2B context.