Models and approaches for large scale supply chain planning

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***Supply chain is all about collaboration for managing the product demand smoothly. The supply chain planning becomes complex as the number of products (and thus partners) grows. Most of the difficulty in planning arises from the uncertainties in demand and supply. To manage the supply chain smoothly, one option is to limit the number of products but businesses offer a portfolio of products to cater a large pool of customers. In this situation, to keep the supply chain lean, products are designed in such a way that most of the final products share several common or economically substitutable components / intermediate products and processes. There are two extremes: Designing the product specific component for each product; and designing a single universal component that can fit in every product. Both options come with certain advantages and disadvantages and to balance the advantages and disadvantages associated with the both, final products are segregated into different categories with each category sharing substitutable components. For instance, a paper roll of a specific width can be used to produce multiple final products of varied width.******Determining the number of categories and classification of products into categories are very complex problems. In mathematical terms, the problem is known as set partition problem and in practice it is called assortment problem. In supply chains we encounter numerous assortment type problems at various stages (warehouse, sourcing, retail, transportation, etc.). Due to combinatorial and nonlinear nature of these problems efficient solution approaches are required. In this research, our first step is to do systematic review of the relevant literature and enrich the existing knowledge. We have identified few assortment problems associated with supply chains and in the second step we will develop mathematical modeling based approaches and theory to solve such problems. Based on the problem complexity, problem size and usage we will develop and test combination of approaches. Thirdly, the most effective and suitable approaches will be disseminated through publications and seminars. In particular, our key focus is to:***1) Develop and test strategies which are more suitable for supply chains under these circumstances.***2) Develop mathematical programming solution approaches which are effective and efficient in solving such complex models.***3) Develop /explore test cases for bench-marking the performance.******The outcome of this research will be a set of methodologies and planning tools that could be used by researchers as well as practitioner. Other outcomes of the research include several highly qualified professionals trained in this area of research.