Business Commons^™

Global Sourcing And Logistics, Martin Christopher, Fu Jia, Omera Khan, Carlos Mena, Erik Sandberg

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

The sourcing of products from across the global marketplace is an increasing trend associated with economic development. This trend is the result of many independent decisions taken by firms around the world looking for new sources of competitive advantage. However, these decisions can also have unintended consequences, exposing the firms to hidden costs and risks, creating congestion at different points in the global transport infrastructure and increasing emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases.

This report presents the results of a project conducted in 2006-07, aimed at improving global sourcing practices, with a particular emphasis on the implications for the UK. …

Simulation As A Tool For Evaluating Strategic Policies For Flexible Supply Chain Systems, Janice L. Forrester, Wayne W. Wakeland

Systems Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The emergence of flexible supply chain systems (FSC) has sparked increased interest in real-time planning, scheduling, and logistics--with particular consideration for strategic implications and overall cost control. Important aspects of an FSC include forecasting, production, materials handling, transportation, and distribution center inventory. There exists a variety of software applications for addressing tactical issues, such as adaptive scheduling, and short term forecasting. However, these programs typically do not permit the user to assess the strategic implications of different policies for flexing capacity and making alternative commitments to manufacturing plants. Recently there has been increased interest in the use of simulation models …