Quantitative Approaches To Distribution Logistics And Supply Chain Management

Increasing customer needs, the globalization of markets and the evolution of e-commerce add to the complexity of logistic processes. In today's business, it is well understood that an effective management of logistic processes is impossible without the use of computer-based tools and quantitative methods. This book presents in a systematic way quantitative approaches to distribution logistics and supply chain management. The main orientation of the book is towards practical problem solving, and numerous case studies and practical applications are presented. The topics covered include: supply chain management, revers logistics, e-commerce, facility location and network planning, vehicle routing, warehousing, inventory control.

Increasing customer needs, the globalization of markets and the evolution of e-commerce add to the complexity of logistic processes. In today's business, it is well understood that an effective management of logistic processes is impossible without the use of computer-based tools and quantitative methods. This book presents in a systematic way quantitative approaches to distribution logistics and supply chain management. The main orientation of the book is towards practical problem solving, and numerous case studies and practical applications are presented. The topics covered include: supply chain management, revers logistics, e-commerce, facility location and network planning, vehicle routing, warehousing, inventory control.

This contributed volume presents selected research papers from the 8th workshop on Logistics and Supply Chain Management, which was held in October 2013 in Berkeley, California. It focuses on the topical issue of quantitative approaches in logistics and supply chain management, mainly covering facility location and location routing; vehicle routing and scheduling; courier, express and parcel service network design; healthcare logistics as well as logistics risk management. The target audience primarily comprises research experts and practitioners in the field, but the book will also be beneficial to graduate students.

Quantitative Methods in Supply Chain Management presents some of the most important methods and tools available for modeling and solving problems arising in the context of supply chain management. In the context of this book, “solving problems” usually means designing efficient algorithms for obtaining high-quality solutions. The first chapter is an extensive optimization review covering continuous unconstrained and constrained linear and nonlinear optimization algorithms, as well as dynamic programming and discrete optimization exact methods and heuristics. The second chapter presents time-series forecasting methods together with prediction market techniques for demand forecasting of new products and services. The third chapter details models and algorithms for planning and scheduling with an emphasis on production planning and personnel scheduling. The fourth chapter presents deterministic and stochastic models for inventory control with a detailed analysis on periodic review systems and algorithmic development for optimal control of such systems. The fifth chapter discusses models and algorithms for location/allocation problems arising in supply chain management, and transportation problems arising in distribution management in particular, such as the vehicle routing problem and others. The sixth and final chapter presents a short list of new trends in supply chain management with a discussion of the related challenges that each new trend might bring along in the immediate to near future. Overall, Quantitative Methods in Supply Chain Management may be of particular interest to students and researchers in the fields of supply chain management, operations management, operations research, industrial engineering, and computer science.

In recent years, supply chain planning has emerged as one of the most challenging problems in the industry. As a consequence, the planning focus is shifting from the management of plant-speci?c operations to a holistic view of the various logistics and productionstages, that is an approach in which suppliers, productionplants and customers are considered as constituents of an integrated network. A major dr- ing force behind this development lies in the globalization of the world economy, which has facilitated the co-operation between different partners working together in world-wide logistics networks. Hence, considerable cost savings can be gained from optimizing the structure and the operations of complex supply networks li- ing plants, suppliers, distribution centres and customers. Consequently, to improve the performance of the entire logistic chain, more sophisticated planning systems and more effective decision support are needed. Clearly, successful applications of supply chain management have driven the development of advanced planning systems (APS), which are concerned with s- porting decision-making activities at the strategic, tactical and operational decision level. These software packages basically rely on the application of quantitative methods, which are used to model the underlying complex decision problems c- sidering the limited availability of resources and the need to react on time to customer orders. The core module at the mid-term level of APS comprises op- ational supply chain planning. In many industries, productionstages are assigned to differentplantsand distribution centreshave been established at geographicallyd- persed locations.

This book describes a variety of quantitative methods that are vital to planning and control in the operations of the industrial world, from suppliers to manufacturing plants to distribution centers and to the dealers and stores. The topics include: forecasting, measuring forecast error, determining the order quantity, safety stock, when and how much inventory to replenish, all this for individual items and for a distribution network where the items are housed in multiple locations. Further quantitative methods are: manufacturing control, just-in-time, assembly, statistical process control, distribution network, supply chain management, transportation and reverse logistics. The methods are proven, practical and doable for most applications. The material in Elements of Manufacturing, Distribution and Logistics presents topics that people want and should know in the work place. The presentation is easy to read for students and practitioners. There is little need to delve into difficult mathematical relationships, and numerical examples are presented throughout to guide the reader on applications. Practitioners will be able to apply the methods learned to the systems in their locations, and the typical professional will want the book on their bookshelf for reference. Everyone in professional organizations like APICS, DSI and INFORMS; MBA graduates, people in industry, and students in management science, business and industrial engineering will find this book valuable.

unique introduction to distribution logistics that focuses on both quantitative modeling and practical business issues Introduction to Distribution Logistics presents a complete and balanced treatment of distribution logistics by covering both applications and the required theoretical background, therefore extending its reach to practitioners and students in a range of disciplines such as management, engineering, mathematics, and statistics. The authors emphasize the variety and complexity of issues and sub-problems surrounding distribution logistics as well as the limitations and scope of applicability of the proposed quantitative tools. Throughout the book, readers are provided with the quantitative approaches needed to handle real-life management problems, and areas of study include: Supply chain management Network design and transportation Demand forecasting Inventory control in single- and multi-echelon systems Incentives in the supply chain Vehicle routing Complete with extensive appendices on probability and statistics as well as mathematical programming, Introduction to Distribution Logistics is a valuable text for distribution logistics courses at both the advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate levels in a variety of disciplines, and prior knowledge of production planning is not assumed. The book also serves as a useful reference for practitioners in the fields of applied mathematics and statistics, manufacturing engineering, business management, and operations research. The book's related Web site includes additional sections and numerical illustrations.

Designed by practitioners for practitioners, Supply Chain Management and Logistics: Innovative Strategies and Practical Solutions provides a wide-spectrum resource on many different aspects involved in supply chain management, including contemporary applications. With contributions from leading experts from all over the world, the book includes innovative strategies and practical solutions that address problems encountered by enterprise in management of supply chain and logistics. It details general techniques and specific approaches to a broad range of important, inspiring, and unanswered questions in the field. The book is organized around four major research themes in supply chain management: 1) supply chain strategy and coordination, 2) supply chain network optimization, 3) inventory management in supply chain, and 4) financial decisions in supply chain. The sequence of these themes helps transition from an enterprise-wide framework to network design to operational management to financial aspects of the supply chain. Each individual theme also addresses the answer to a challenging question as to how to go about applying quantitative tools to real-life operations, resulting in practical solutions. As the world moves toward more competitive and open markets, effective supply chain management is of critical importance to the success or failure of an enterprise. Despite a large amount of research achieved in the past decades on the supply chain management topic, many researchers and practitioners are still devoting considerable efforts on the emerging new problems. Designed to give you a collection of topics that bridge the gap between the academic arena and industrial practice, the book supplies a contemporary and up-to-date review on the advanced theory, applications, and practices of supply chain management, making it a rich resource for the design, analysis, and implementation of supply chain management problems arising in a wide range of industries.

This ebook on qualitative research in supply chain management and logistics is of course about qualitative methods. But it is more than that; it is also about doing research that is qualitative in its essence. Qualitative research is not just about using for example interview data in a study, it is also about how one perceives qualitative data, the theoretical lens through which one conducts analyses, and the data analysis processes.

This book addresses decision making in reverse logistics, which concerns the integration of used and obsolete products back into the supply chain as valuable resources. It covers a wide range of aspects, related to distribution, production and inventory management, and supply chain management. For each topic, it highlights key managerial issues in real-life examples and explains which quantitative models are available for addressing them. By treating a broad range of issues in a unified way, the book offers the reader a comprehensive view on the field of reverse logistics.