Additional information
by Kai Hoberg (Author)
Research on supply chain management has received much attention in recentyears. A supply chain is the network of all parties involved in fulfilling a customer request, that is, from the acquisition of raw materials, over the production of finished goods to their distribution to the customers. Supply chains are governed by inventory policies, which are key drivers of supply chain performance. In this book, Kai Hoberg applies linear control theory to study various inventory policies and to analyze the supply chain performance. Linear control theory originates in the engineering field and uses transfer functions to model the system in question. However, using the appropriate assumptions, it can be applied to model supply chains. In this research, the effect of the inventory policy on the fundamental performance of the supply chain is analyzed. The fundamental performance relates to the key performance drivers in the supply chain: variability and responsiveness. High variability causes companies to hold excess capacity, use overtime production, and motivates high safety stocks. Poor responsiveness hinders a supply chain to track customer demand and it will suffer from lost sales, unsatisfied customers, and increased competition. In this research, various properties of the different inventory policies are demonstrated. While the book is mathematically rigorous, the author focuses on important managerial insights gained from the analysis. He particular emphasizes the necessity of trade-offs and shows how to move the trade-offcurves by applying a particular inventory policy.
