A Corporate Supply Optimizer with Flow Network

Abstract

A holding or a multi-business corporate seeks to coordinate its supply for minimum overall costs. A Corporate Supply Optimizer (CSO), as a central entity taking advantage of the notion of ow networks, gathers necessary operational information from members of the corporate supply chain. The CSO then guides supply chain members on ordering decisions for a minimum overall cost for the entire supply chain. Its computational engine models the entire supply chain with multiple members in four stages to satisfy customer demand. The CSO seeks a solution with minimum total costs, unlike noncooperative supply chains where individual members compete to optimize their local costs. The existing literature stays with restrictive assumptions on the number of supply chain stages, disallowing a case of multiple products. Simulation results indicate an approximately 26% reduction in total costs of the supply chain utilizing the CSO.