Session: 02-03-03: Optimization

Paper Number: 145529

145529 - Understanding the Impacts of Jointly Optimizing Product and Supply Chain Decisions for Complex Products 

The disruptions that occurred during and after the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the fragility of US supply chains and demonstrated that existing approaches for supply chain design and operation may be insufficient. Currently, supply chain design begins after the majority of product design decisions have already been determined. While many firms recognize the importance of integrating product design decisions with supply chain design decisions, there is currently a lack of understanding of how to effectively do so for complex products. In order to address that research gap, this work compares the traditional sequential design strategy (in which supply chain decisions follow product design decisions) with an integrated strategy in which all design decisions are made together. We examine these strategies within the context of profit optimization of the product design and supply chain of a ground vehicle. Our results indicate that the integrated approach may yield substantially better solutions, albeit at the cost of a more complex optimization procedure. 

Presenting Author: Christopher Mccomb Carnegie Mellon University

Presenting Author Biography: Professor at CMU

Authors:

Chad Uhles University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Melinda Mudzurandende Carnegie Mellon University, Africa
Christopher Mccomb Carnegie Mellon University
Hugh Medal University of Tennessee, Knoxville