2026-09-18T22:33:00Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/1128772026-06-06T01:04:11Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
Ahmad Hemmati and Chris Caplice.
Andleigh, Priya
Bullock, Jeffrey Scott
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Supply Chain Management Program.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Supply Chain Management Program
2017-12-20T18:15:46Z
2017-12-20T18:15:46Z
2017
2017
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112877
1014341126
Thesis: M. Eng. in Supply Chain Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Supply Chain Management Program, 2017.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 46).
Traditionally, production and transportation planning processes are managed separately in organizations. In such arrangements, order processing, load planning, and transportation scheduling are often done sequentially, which can be time consuming. Establishing a proactive steady flow of products between two nodes of a supply chain can bypass this order-plan-ship process. A steady flow of products can reduce transportation costs, increase cross-dock productivity, and reduce bullwhip effect upstream in the supply chain. This thesis develops an analytical framework to calculate this steady flow. The determination of eligible SKUs in this approach is performed by analyzing each SKU's historical and forecasted demand. The level of flow of each SKU is found using optimization with the objective of maximizing total savings. The methodology was tested on a plant-to-warehouse lane of a fast moving consumer goods company. The relationship between demand characteristics and optimal steady flow was studied. It was found that as the coefficient of variation decreases, the optimum steady flow moves closer to the mean of the non-zero demand and selected forecast over the model horizon. The methodology developed in the research, with its potential to reduce transportation cost and improve warehouse productivity, also presents the opportunity for new and innovative contract types with transportation providers.
by Priya Andleigh and Jeffrey Scott Bullock.
M.Eng. in Supply Chain Management
46 pages
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.
http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Supply Chain Management Program.
Balancing product flow and synchronizing transportation
Thesis
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<Abstract>Traditionally, production and transportation planning processes are managed separately in organizations. In such arrangements, order processing, load planning, and transportation scheduling are often done sequentially, which can be time consuming. Establishing a proactive steady flow of products between two nodes of a supply chain can bypass this order-plan-ship process. A steady flow of products can reduce transportation costs, increase cross-dock productivity, and reduce bullwhip effect upstream in the supply chain. This thesis develops an analytical framework to calculate this steady flow. The determination of eligible SKUs in this approach is performed by analyzing each SKU's historical and forecasted demand. The level of flow of each SKU is found using optimization with the objective of maximizing total savings. The methodology was tested on a plant-to-warehouse lane of a fast moving consumer goods company. The relationship between demand characteristics and optimal steady flow was studied. It was found that as the coefficient of variation decreases, the optimum steady flow moves closer to the mean of the non-zero demand and selected forecast over the model horizon. The methodology developed in the research, with its potential to reduce transportation cost and improve warehouse productivity, also presents the opportunity for new and innovative contract types with transportation providers.</Abstract>
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