Supply Chain Strategies, Issues and Models

In the 21st century, supply chain operations and relationships among supply chain partners have become highly challenging, necessitating new approaches, e.g., the development of new models. Supply Chain Strategies, Issues and Models discusses supply chain issues and models with examples from actual industrial cases. Expert authors with a wide spectrum of knowledge working in various areas of supply chain management from various geographical locations offer refreshing, novel and insightful ideas and address possible solutions using established theories and models.

Supply Chain Strategies, Issues and Models features studies that have used mathematical modeling, statistical analyses and also descriptive qualitative studies. The chapters cover many relevant themes related to supply chains and logistics including supply chain complexity, information sharing, quality (six sigma), electronic Kanbans, inventory models, scheduling, purchasing and contracts. To facilitate easy reading, the chapters that deal with supply chain related issues are first, followed by studies on inventory, scheduling, purchasing and logistics.

This book can be used as a useful resource of supply chain management by academics, students and practitioners. This book can serve as a helping tool in managerial decision making for investments in collaboration and information exchange to improve forecasts, scheduling and inventory management, and for supply chain managers to leverage product and process complexities into competitive advantage. Some interesting mathematical models can appeal to students and researchers interested in modeling the impact of information sharing in supply chains.

Dr. Usha Ramanathan is a Senior Lecturer in Business Systems in the University of Bedfordshire, UK. She has taught for several years in India, Oman and the UK. Her research interest includes supply chain collaboration, Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), value of information sharing and forecasting, e-commerce, retail customer behaviour and sales promotions. Usha uses case studies and quantitative approaches. She has published widely in leading journals such as International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Operations & Production Management and Omega: The International Journal of Management Science.

Dr. Ramakrishnan Ramanathan is working as a Professor of Operations Management in the University of Bedfordshire Business School, Luton, UK. In the past, he has worked and taught in a number of countries, including the UK, Finland, the Netherlands, Oman and India. His research interests include operations management, supply chains, environmental sustainability, data envelopment analysis and analytic hierarchy process.  He has successfully completed a number of research projects across the world. His research articles have appeared in many prestigious internationally refereed journals.