Cooperative Supply Chain management using a Grid-based optimizer

A cooperative supply chain seeks to coordinate its members to produce and distribute products along the chain, for minimum overall costs to satisfy customer demand. An integrated multi-period, multiple product and multiple stage supply chain is formulated using a flow networks framework. A Cooperative Supply Chain Optimizer (CSCO), as a central software entity taking advantage of Grid technology, connects and gathers necessary operational information from members of the corporate supply chain. The CSCO then guides supply chain members on ordering decisions, for a minimum overall cost of the entire supply chain, while continuously re-directing the members as new data becomes available. The system has been implemented in a cooperative supply chain, with a diverse and dynamic set of member systems connecting to the Grid, with an approximately 26% reduction in total costs of the supply chain.