Bullwhip Effect and the Value of Information Sharing in Supply Chain -- Illustrated by a Shipbuilding Supply Chain

The bullwhip effect in a supply chain seriously decreases the operation efficiency of the supply chain. Information sharing has been used as an important tool to resolve the challenges of supply chain management faced. Firstly, this paper analyzes the causes of bullwhip effect systemically, and then this paper analyzes the value of the information sharing in the a-supplier-multiretailers model. We find some useful conclusions between exist of information and absence of information. At last we use the shipbuilding supply chain to illustrate plenitudinous information sharing will decrease the bullwhip effect.