supply chain optimization studies: a literature review and classification

Abstract

Supply chain planning is an integrated process in which a group of several organizations, such as suppliers, producers, distributors and retailers, work together. It comprises procurement, production, distribution and demand planning topics. These topics require taking strategical, tactical and operational decisions. This research aims to reveal which supply chain topics, which decision levels, and which optimization methods are mostly studied in supply chain planning. This paper presents a total of 77 reviewed works published between 1993 and 2016 about supply chain planning. The reviewed works are categorized according to following elements: decision levels, supply chain optimization topics, objectives, optimization models.