Sourcing Decision in a Multi-Period Model under Demand and Supply Uncertainty

Abstract

Determining the optimum number of suppliers and the optimum quantities to order from each of them is a critical problem for any supply chain. This paper has mathematically arrived at conditions to identify the appropriate sourcing strategy in a multi-period scenario for a stochastic supply and a stochastic demand environment. It has also obtained the total order quantity, optimum number of suppliers and order allocation to each of the suppliers under both uncertain demand and supply in the multiple-period context. Through a numerical analysis this work could bring interesting managerial insights about the sourcing strategies.