Risk analysis for cooperation policies benefits in reducing the bullwhip effect in a telecom supply chain

Supply chain demand is often prone to fluctuations and instability. Known as the ‘bullwhip effect’, small variations in end-item demand create order and inventory oscillations that amplify from a downstream site to an upstream site. Applying a risk analysis approach, and assuming the bullwhip phenomenon as a constant reality, this paper will present the profits or losses that can accrue from various corporation policies. The latter are based on planning, information sharing and stock-adjustment strategies adopted by the supply chain actors. The system considered for this research is a four-stage supply chain. To allow risk measures and analysis, a specific discrete-event-simulation system was developed.