本科毕业论文（设计）

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Multi-echelon inventory management in supply chains Historically, the echelons of the supply chain, warehouse, distributors, retailers, etc., have been managed independently, buffered by large inventories. Increasing competitive pressures and market globalization are forcing firms to develop supply chains that can quickly respond to customer needs. To remain competitive and decrease inventory, these firms must use multi-echelon inventory management interactively, while reducing operating costs and improving customer service. Supply chain management (SCM) is an integrative approach for planning and control of materials and information flows with suppliers and customers, as well as between different functions within a company. This area has drawn considerable attention in recent years and is seen as a tool that provides competitive power .SCM is a set of approaches to integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and stores efficiently, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at right quantities, to the right locations and at the right time, in order to minimize system-wide costs while satisfying service-level requirements .So the supply chain consists of various members or stages. A supply chain is a dynamic, stochastic, and complex system that might involve hundreds of participants.

Inventory usually represents from 20 to 60 per cent of the total assets of manufacturing firms. Therefore, inventory management policies prove critical in determining the profit of such firms. Inventory management is, to a greater extent, relevant when a whole supply chain (SC), namely a network of procurement, transformation, and delivering firms, is considered. Inventory management is indeed a major issue in SCM, i.e. an approach that addresses SC issues under an integrated perspective.