Supply Chain Optimization Model Under Uncertainty

The present work is an attempt to consider the supply-chain is an integrated effort by a number of entities - from supplier of raw materials to producers, to the distributors - to produce and deliver a product or a service to end user. Planning and managing a supply chain involves making decisions which depend on estimations of future scenarios (about demand, supply, prices, etc.). Product demand variability is a source of uncertainty in any supply chain. Failure to account for significant product demand fluctuation in the midterm by deterministic planning model may lead to excessively high production costs (translating to high inventory changes) or unsatisfied customer demand and loss of market share. The important features that have not been considered earlier include (semi) continuous processes, multisite supply chains and midterm planning of multisite supply chains having (semi) continuous processing attributes is discussed as the trade off involved between the inventory depletion and production cost is face of uncertainty.