Supply chain simulation: a survey

Jack P.C. Kleijnen

No 103, Discussion Paper from Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research

Abstract: This paper provides a survey of simulation in supply chain management. It reviews four types of simulation, namely spreadsheet simulation, system dynamics, discreteevent simulation, and business games. Which simulation type should be applied, depends on the type of managerial question to be answered by the model. Moreover, this paper summarizes novel sensitivity and robustness analyses. This sensitivity analysis yields a shortlist of the truly important factors in large simulation models with (say) a hundred factors. The robustness analysis optimises the important factors controllable by management, while accounting for the noise created by the important non-controllable, environmental factors. Both analyses are illustrated by a case study involving the simulation of a supply chain in the mobile communications industry in Sweden. In general, simulation is important because it may support the quantification of the benefits resulting from supply chain management.

Keywords: supply; chain; management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C0 C1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cmp
Date: 2003
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dgr:kubcen:2003103

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