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DESIGNING RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAINS NETWORKS | ||||
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Ed Pohl, Ph.D.
January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2011
This research seeks to develop a fundamental understanding of the inter-dependence within and between
critical supply chain infrastructure systems. We will quantify the impact of this interdependence on both
the resiliency and sustainability of supply chain systems, both individually and collectively. In our research,
we will examine the trade-offs between resource allocation and the efficacy of various types of resources to
mitigate supply chain vulnerability. We will develop a theoretical foundation upon which analytical methods
will be constructed and utilized to effectively model, analyze, and improve the resiliency and sustainability
of critical supply chain systems. Our approach will study both resiliency and sustainability at a variety of
hierarchical levels/supply chain echelons, as well as under different time horizons (i.e., strategic, tactical,
and operational). This approach will afford us the flexibility to analyze both supply chain performance and
supply chain impacts/disruptions at disparate levels across the various supply chain infrastructure systems.
Our research strives to conduct a comprehensive assessment of risk and fortification decisions which require
the consideration of all connected players within a multi-echelon supply chain. From a mathematical modeling
perspective, this requires the development of an arc-based representation of the supply chain network. Within
this network, special consideration must be given to the multiple states in which a particular arc may function
in the presence of additional security resources. Moreover, since the level of risk in most all scenarios varies
highly with time, the inclusion of a temporal element is vital to the validity of our study. However, the
consideration of a dynamic supply chain requires us to develop time-expanded network fortification models for
the problem considered in this work. The pursuit of an arc-based time-dependent model is a computational challenge
for even moderately sized supply chains. This challenge is compounded by our eagerness to study intermodal networks
on a national scale. Our research seeks to fill this need by developing new supply chain network strategies that
incorporate the risks associated with disruption. Our models will be useful both to emergency response teams and
to military and civilian logistics planners during the planning and preplanning phases of contingency assessment.
In addition, our resulting solution techniques will be suitable for deployment in decision support network tools
for contingency planning.
Product: In Progress (DHS MBTC-1101)
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