CAREER: Analysis and Control of Areas Undergoing Change in the Value-Chain

价值链包含了将材料和信息转化为满足客户需求的产品的整个价值创造过程。目前，所有行业的价值链都在进行修订和重新设计。这项资助提供了资金，以便更仔细地观察价值链中发生的变化类型，分析它们的相对重要性，并建议管理这些变化的成功方法。特别是，它为价值链的三个具体方面提供资金：供应商管理和供应商拥有的库存系统；批处理环境中的协调；在价值链中实行定量配给。该赠款还为以下方面提供资金：(1)课程和课程开发，将制造业问题带入课堂；(2)增加课堂上的主动学习；(3)案例研究开发；(4)促进学生辅导的计划；(5)促进学生参与研究的项目。这项研究的关键是与真实公司的互动。与工业界密切合作将有助于产生实际和可执行的结果。供应商管理和供应商拥有的库存合同在工业中变得越来越普遍；有效的建模将有助于有效和适当地使用它们。协调批量生产系统的综合理论既可以节省生产成本，也可以通过提高供应商绩效来节省资金。定量配给政策对客户群影响的评估，对美国零售商的生存能力有直接影响。如果研究成功，将对排队理论和随机调度等领域有重要的学术贡献。上述制造系统和随机过程课程的课程内容和案例研究将以本基金资助的研究领域为基础。这将促进历史上完全不同的学术界教育和研究组成部分之间的协同作用。此外，制造系统和随机过程的课程提高了学生对制造的兴趣，并为学生提供了分析这些系统所需的分析工具；因此，这些课程加强了人才库，致力于改善这个国家的制造业基础。

The value-chain encompasses the entire value creation process, which transforms material and information into product that satisfies customers' needs. Value-chains across all industries are currently being revised and re-engineered. This grant provides funding to take a closer look at the types of changes occurring in the value-chain, to analyze their relative importance, and to suggest successful methods for managing these changes. In particular, it provides funding for three specific aspects of the value-chain:vendor-managed and vendor-owned inventory systems; coordination in batch processing environments; and rationing in the value-chain. This grant also provides funding for: (1) course and curriculum development to bring manufacturing issues into the classroom; (2) increasing active learning in the classroom; (3) case study development; (4) programs to promote student mentoring; and (5) programs to promote student involvement in research. Key to this research is interaction with real companies. Working closely with industry will help to yield results that are practical and implementable. Vendor-managed and vendor-owned inventory contracts are becoming increasingly common in industry; effective modeling will help them to be used efficiently and appropriately. A comprehensive theory for coordinating batch production systems could save money both in production dollars spent and through improved supplier performance. An assessment of the impact of rationing policies on the customer base has direct implications to the viability of retailers in the US. If successful, the results of this research will have significant academic contributions in the areas of queueing theory and stochastic scheduling. The curriculum content and case studies mentioned above for courses on manufacturing systems and stochastic processes will be based on the research areas funded by this grant. This will foster a synergy between the historically disparate educational and research components of academia. Furthermore, courses on manufacturing systems and stochastic processes promote student interest in manufacturing and give students the analytic tools required to analyze such systems; hence, these courses strengthen the pool of talent devoted to improving this country is manufacturing base.