Chapter 5 - Uncertainty Issues in Biomass-Based Production Chains

Abstract

In supply chain management, network design and planning take an important place, and design decisions should be viable enough to create a supply chain that operates efficiently under today’s complex and uncertain business environments. In an uncertain decision environment, the decision-maker confronts the challenge of accurately predicting the impact of possible actions on supply chain behavior. Uncertainties complicate the assessment of investment decisions and affect the performance of production chains. To avoid such problems, a flexible supply chain network has to be established. It is necessary to handle and treat the inherent uncertainties to cope with imprecise nature of flexible supply chains. To identify the most effective strategies in a specific design or operational scenario, identification and management of the sources of uncertainties should be incorporated into the decision-making processes. Considering this fact, this chapter covers the main sources of uncertainty in biomass-based production chains and the methods and modeling techniques to incorporate these uncertainties in the decision-making process.