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Towards a consumer-oriented supply chain

Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 75-78). / The current consumer products industry is primarily designed as a customer oriented supply chain; this means that it is designed to fulfill orders from the distribution centers or stores of the retailers. The question posed by retailers and vendors is how might a consumer (not customer) oriented supply chain be defined and designed in a way which retailers and vendors could move towards it in the future? Our methodology consisted of interviews with key stakeholders and industry experts, a literature research, value stream mapping as well as data analysis of historical sales and shipments between a retailer and a vendor that sponsored the project. As a result of our research, we conclude that a consumer oriented supply chain is defined as a supply chain that is triggered by consumer demand data and it implements strong collaboration between the retailer and the vendor, in order to achieve a more efficient response to the consumer needs. A series of interviews with key stakeholders revealed that one of the most important parts of the collaboration is forecasting. Our data analysis depicts that a single, synchronized forecasting of the consumer demand would help both parties operate in a more efficient and collaborative way. As final deliverable we propose a roadmap with short-term and long-term steps necessary to design a consumer oriented supply chain. / by Panagiotis Andrianopoulos and Hector Rafael Perez Wario. / M. Eng. in Logistics

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MIT/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/99801
Date January 2015
CreatorsAndrianopoulos, Panagiotis, M. Eng. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PĂ©rez Wario, Hector Rafael
ContributorsAlexis H. Bateman., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.
PublisherMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Source SetsM.I.T. Theses and Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Format78 pages, application/pdf
RightsM.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission., http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

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