Date of Award

3-10-2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

Doral E. Sandlin, PhD

Abstract

A manufacturing company can postpone production and logistics processes in its supply chain system. The delaying of manufacturing and logistics can eliminate the burden of accurate forecasting of demand and thereby reduce inventory carrying cost. Identical postponement processes cannot be generally implemented because every product has its own characteristics in reference to demand and every company has its own individual production environment. A company needs to find its best postponement strategy to minimize its costs for any certain product. This study applies Pagh and Cooper (1998)’s typology of supply chain postponement/speculation strategies to find the best postponement strategy for a global 500 company which has factories in Europe and the U.S. The total cost of the example product may be affected by holding cost rate, customer service level, exchange rate, and transportation uncertainty while the product moves through each supply chain. This study will simulate the supply chain system and apply these factors in each postponement strategy. The simulated data will be used to analyze the effect of parameters and discuss the result.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-LSCM-ENS-10-05

DTIC Accession Number

ADA516953

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