ON APPLICABILITY OF OPTIMAL CONTROL THEORY TO ADAPTIVE SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING AND SCHEDULING

Decisions in supply chain (SC) planning and scheduling are interconnected and depend a great deal on tackling uncertainty and dynamics of structures and processes in SCs that evolve over time. In this paper, we investigate the applicability of optimal control theory (OCT) to SC planning and scheduling based on the analysis of different streams in application of control theory to SCM and our own elaborations. Some drawbacks and missing links in the literature are pointed out. Several crucial application areas of control theory to SCM are discussed. We conclude that with the help of control theory, stability, adaptability and disaster-tolerance of SCs can be investigated in their fullness and consistency with operations planning and execution control within a conceptually and mathematically integrated framework. However, although SCs resemble control systems, they have some peculiarities which do not allow a direct application of control theoretic methods. The combined application of OCT and operations research enriches the possibilities to develop solutions for many practical problems of SC management (SCM). At the same time, mathematics of OCT requires domain-specific modifications to be consistent with discrete processes and decision-making in SCM. We argue for a co-operation between control experts and SC managers that has the potential to introduce more realism to the dynamic planning and models and improve SCM policies. Copyright © 2011 IFAC