Effects of inventory control on bullwhip in logistic systems under demand and lead time uncertainties

Abstract

In this paper, we are interested on the inventory control problem of multi-stages supply chain characterized by finite capacities of resources and delays due to processing times. The objective is to define a control law which permits to satisfy the end-customer demands and for which supply chain requirements will be completely met. Our model includes two factors that commonly have an impact on the supply chain performances and cause the bullwhip effect: the variability of the customer demand and the uncertainty on the lead time. The developed approach is based on a saturated predictor-feedback structure. We examine then the bullwhip effect phenomenon, which is an important observation in supply chain management. The results demonstrate that the bullwhip effect can be reduced, but not completely eliminated, by using a saturated command and a predictor-feedback structure.