Managing Operational Risks in Decentralized Supply Chains
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Date: 04-01-2008
Start Time:
1:00pm
End Time: 2:00pm
Speaker: Fernando Bernstein, Duke University
Location: Uris 333
ABSTRACT
To mitigate the risks associated with demand variability and supply variability, firms employ a variety of operational hedging strategies -- i.e., methods for leveraging operational flexibility. For example, the implementation of postponement strategies and the use of common components in manufacturing allow companies to offer a large selection of products while avoiding excessive inventory costs. Similarly, by diversifying their portfolio of suppliers, firms can reduce the amount of safety stock required to avoid disruptions caused by uncertainties in the supply process.
We investigate the impact of outsourcing manufacturing operations on the implementation of these operational hedging approaches for managing uncertainty. In particular, several of our findings indicate that outsourcing production may inhibit the implementation of operational hedging strategies.
BIO
Professor Bernstein is an Associate Professor of Operations Management at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. He obtained a Ph.D. in Operations Management from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University in 2001. Professor Bernstein's research interests include supply chain management, production planning and inventory control, applications of game theory for production and distribution systems, and revenue management. He has published papers in leading journals like Operations Research, Management Science and Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, and serves as Associate Editor for these three journals. Prof. Bernstein teaches the core Operations Management course and the Supply Chain Management elective course for the Full-Time and Executive MBA programs at Duke University.