Supply Chain Simulation using Business Process Modeling in Service Oriented Architecture

At most time, supply chain is a hybrid dynamic system composed of continuous material flow, discrete information flow and their interaction. Traditional method of modeling and simulation of supply chain looking supply chain as discrete event system can’t reflect systemic dynamic complexity. In this paper, two kinds of order decision-making simulation model of supply chain, discrete model and discrete-continuous hybrid model are built with system dynamics and discrete state chart using the software AnyLogic. Inventory levels of manufacturer and distributor under traditional inventory strategy and VMI strategy are studied. Simulation results show that hybrid model describes bullwhip effect of supply chain different from discrete model, that is the bullwhip effect exhibiting higher inventory level of supply chain upstream enterprise in discrete-continuous combined modeling while exhibiting higher inventory fluctuation of supply chain upstream enterprise in discrete model and can simulates the process of system evolvement caused by adaptive agent’s evolutionary learning greatly.

This study proposes a method to support product architecture design considering the supply chain. Previous studies on product architecture design include methods to realize modularization and product family design based on the relationships among components. From the supply chain perspective, mathematical models and simulation models have been proposed to improve the supply chain of modularized products. However, there has been little research on design support that simultaneously considers product architecture and supply chain. In particular, there is little consideration given to the impact on the supply chain caused by the connection between components. To address this issue, this study proposes a design methodology for the simultaneous design of both product architecture and supply chain from the perspectives of economy, environment, quality, and transportation. This paper newly proposes an evaluation model that incorporates the production capacity of each supplier, the delivery capacity of each transportation mode, and the on-time delivery rate with consideration of above component connections. The proposed method supports the selection of an architecture and its supply chain by visualizing the characteristics, such as the trade-off between evaluation indicators depending on the degree of modularization. As a result of applying the proposed method to the architectural design of a laptop computer, we confirmed that the proposed method can suggest to the designer an appropriate architecture and its supply chain according to the number of products to be manufactured and their means of transportation.

Farmers are inhibited from Agri supply chains due to upfront transaction costs. There is ample evidence that farmers' participation in supply chains produce benefits for farmers. This paper analyses how blockchain might support farmers to reduce transaction costs and improve their involvement in supply chains by reviewing the literature. The study contributes some theoretical insights to our knowledge on how transaction costs can be reduced by implementing supply chain collaboration with blockchain technology. It further presents some design implications for a blockchain-enabled system that would also support collective marketing. Practitioners in the Agri domain can use this analysis as a support for developing a system that improves farmers' participation in Agri supply chains.

Both in academia and industry, supply chain simulation is a relatively mature subject. Academic researchers have produced supply chain modelling/simulation frameworks and have used simulation to teach supply chain dynamics. A review of industrial applications however points to the heavy use of consultants and/or simulation software vendors. The shortage of in-house supply chain simulation skills/practitioners appears to be hampering the wider use of simulation. Although many universities in the UK offer postgraduate programs in Supply Chain Management a very few provide opportunities to learn and experience hands-on simulation. This paper presents how a commercial simulation software that understands supply chain language was used in various settings to develop simulation skills and teach supply chain dynamics. This paper will also outline how an integrated environment involving simulation software and an industry standard supply chain management framework can be used to develop the simulation skills and competencies of supply chain professionals.

In recent years, sustainable supply and value chains for fishing have attracted the attention of many researchers. However, the existing literature lacks studies that explore different perspectives on sustainability within these fishing supply chains. This study is therefore unique because it not only addresses this gap but also examines the often-overlooked roles of power and trust in achieving sustainability. By using a quantitative approach, this study aims to provide new insights into these complex relationships. Firstly, the research aims to determine whether the perceptions of three distinct groups regarding sustainability indicators differ significantly. Secondly, it investigates the impact of institutional, collective, and bargaining power on the trust dynamics among supply chain participants. To achieve this, a comprehensive approach was employed, using structured questionnaires to collect data from 100 supply chain actors, including fishers, agents, and retailers, in Goa, India. The data were then carefully analysed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA in SPSS, and Partial Least Squares- Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4. The study identified significant perceptual differences in four of the 19 sustainability indicators at a 10% significance level. The findings from PLS-SEM reveal important links between the power and trust dynamics among supply chain participants. These insights will help policymakers and stakeholders understand how supply chain participants perceive sustainability and clarify the relationship between power and trust. This understanding can support efforts to build trust within supply chains. Additionally, the study offers valuable insights that can directly inform policies to improve sustainability in fishing supply chains.

SISCO: An object-oriented supply chain simulation system

Communication, visibility, and control of materials across the supply chain are necessary components for an efficient supply chain management system. However, the current supply chain management system in the manufactured housing industry is not able to control the flow of materials efficiently across the extended supply chain. This need has led to the development of an ARENA based supply chain simulation model to identify key bottlenecks in the entire supply chain flow and various experimental design alternatives have been tested. As a result, an optimized new supply chain management system with an online ordering capability is proposed for the manufactured housing industry. However, this optimized relationship among the relevant parties throughout the supply chain is not limited to the manufactured housing industry but it is expected to have the potential contribution to improve overall efficiency of housing practitioners in urban planning and community development.

Recently, a variety of workflow patterns has been proposed focusing on specific aspects like control flow, data flow, and resource assignments. Though these patterns are relevant for implementing Business Process Modeling (BPM) tools and for evaluating the expressiveness of BPM languages, they do not contribute to reduce redundant specifications of recurrent business functions when modeling business processes. Furthermore, contemporary BPM tools do not support process designers in defining, querying, and reusing activity patterns as building blocks for process modeling. Related to these problems this paper proposes a set of activity patterns, evidences their practical relevance, and introduces a BPM tool for the modeling of business processes based on the reuse of these activity patterns. Altogether our approach fosters reuse of business function specifications and helps to improve the quality and comparability of business process models.

The global environment, with its dynamic and varied changes, creates unstable and demanding conditions for the customs system of the European Union to cope with. The article aims to identify and describe the most pressing challenges to the EU customs system in the context of the customs handling of supply chain actors. The hypothesis for verification is that the EU system is not static in the face of the volatility, uncertainty and ambiguity of the environment; instead, it responds to all challenges arising, so as to ensure guarantee professional customs handling to participants in supply chains. The article is composed of two parts followed by a summary. The first part addresses the role of customs in supply chains; the second part presents the most important challenges to the EU’s customs system directly related to the customs handling of participants in international supply chains. The summary concludes the issues raised in the investigation. The study relies on traditional research methods: deductive reasoning and comparative analysis.

Within the context of supply chain simulation, this paper introduces the generic runtime infrastructure for distributed simulation as a novel infrastructure for distributed supply chain simulation that promotes user transparency and extensible service provision. These are discussed with regard to a distributed simulation of a supply chain model (federation) GRIDS-SCF and a case study on supply chain simulation from the automotive industry. The main aim of this work is to provide industry with a business benefit from distributed simulation by making it possible to connect and reuse previously developed models in a supply chain while minimizing technological intervention (additional technological skills required) with the end user simulationist. It is suggested that this approach may pave the way for distributed supply chain simulation that emphasizes simulation methodology rather than technology.

With the development of global economy, supply chain, as a recognised complex system, is becoming more complex for analysis. In this context, it is worth introducing the perspective of complex system in perceiving and modelling of supply chain system to address its dynamic, stochastic and uncertain characteristics. Therefore, this paper proposes a methodological framework of supply chain modelling and simulation based on the fractal perspective, and presents an all-round and systematic exposition of concept modelling and distributed simulation by means of multi-agent technology. In this framework, different supply chain scenarios focusing on manufacturing, inventory and transportation can be easily modelled and simulated at different scales and levels. In addition, a prototype system which implements the methodological framework and the key implementation techniques are presented as well. Finally, a supply chain example, which supposes manufacturer as the core member, is modelled and simulated with the prototype system to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.

Supermarkets have expanded rapidly in SADC during the last decade, leading to fears that small-scale farmers and food processors could be excluded from access to urban markets. To assess the impact of supermarket chains on various participants in the supply chain, a survey was carried out in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia in 2004, 2005 and 2007. To determine the factors that influence the choice between the supermarket or traditional market channel and the impact of participation in the supermarket supply chain, a two-step treatment model was used. The results showed that over 80% of all processed food products in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia were imported from South Africa, and that supermarkets used a mixture of procurement systems for fresh fruit and vegetables and processed food products. Participation in the supermarkets channel had a positive impact on small-scale farmers' incomes. Farmers who supplied fresh fruit and vegetables to supermarkets had a significantly higher income than those who supplied to traditional markets in Zambia. The expansion of South African supermarkets into the SADC countries may be beneficial to small-scale farmers and therefore efforts should be made to incorporate them into the supermarkets' fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain.

Development of a simulation model of biomass supply chain for biofuel production

In order to improve the management and operation efficiency of the modern supply chain, this paper combines the MR virtual reality technology to carry out the visual simulation of the modern supply chain. Moreover, this paper uses MR virtual simulation technology to perform intelligent perception of supply chain transportation equipment and transportation objects, recognize its shape and the force it receives, and ensure that there is no damage during the transportation process. The visual simulation of supply chain is realized by real-time dynamic display based on geometric model. Moreover, this paper combines the MR virtual reality technology to define the geometric and kinematic characteristics of the modeled object, then encapsulates these characteristics into the object class, and defines the behavior characteristics to establish an object class library. Finally, the experimental research verifies that the modern supply chain visual simulation technology based on MR virtual reality technology has a good simulation effect in the supply chain system.

Influenced by the high dynamic of the markets and the steadily increasing demand for short delivery times the importance of supply chain optimization is growing. In particular, the order process plays a central role in achieving short delivery times and constantly needs to evaluate the trade-off between high inventory and the risk of stock-outs. However, analyzing different order strategies and the influence of various production parameters is difficult to achieve in industrial practice. Therefore, simulations of supply chains are used in order to improve processes in the whole value chain. The objective of this research is to evaluate two different order strategies (t, q, t, S) in a four-stage supply chain. In order to measure the performance of the supply chain the quantity of the backlog will be considered. A Design of Experiments approach is supposed to enhance the significance of the simulation results.