Modeling of financial supply chain

摘要

In a supply chain the money flows upstream and the information flows in both directions. For the chain system to be effective, the management of upstream flow of money and the management of downstream flow of goods are pivotal. Though the later has been studies extensively, there are only few research works on the former. There are many fundamental differences between the characteristics of flow of materials and flow of money. For instance, if there is excessive flow of goods, this may cause higher inventory holding cost whereas higher flow of money can earn more interest. The quantity of goods may remain unchanged but the terms of payment may vary and can cause higher or lower cash flow. The problem of managing the flow of money is complex for many reasons: 1. First, the inflows and out-flows of money are continuous throughout an organization's life span and hence the problem is dynamic in nature. 2. Second, future cash flows are normally unknown, as it depends up on the movement of goods which is related to the market demand. 3. Third, even if the future values are known before hand the problem is computationally complex. The objective of this study is to understand the factors influencing cash inflow and cash outflow and to develop a heuristic having practical utility. This paper presents an integer programming model for the static case where the future receipts from distributors, and the payment terms and amounts of all suppliers are known and is then extended to more general situations. (33 refs.)