Supply chain dynamics

Abstract

This conference session invites reflection on how to design and/or manage a supply chain system from supply chain dynamics perspective. It emphasizes the interactions between supply chain players and the economic consequences. The most popular topic of supply chain dynamics is called “bullwhip effect”. It is the term used to describe the scenario that orders upstream tend to have large fluctuations than the sales downstream. It produces severe impact on the suppliers' performance such as excessive capacity, labor idling and over-time; eventually these costs will be passed onto customers. The area has received considerable attention in the past two decades, but there are still many open questions. Although many reasons jeopardize the performance of the supply chain, the issue of supply chain dynamics might be universal. A local farm would be vulnerable facing the bullwhip effect due to the products' perishable feature. A multinational might suffer because of the geographical dispersion.