ordering strategy is fairly simple, and this is why there were seldom backlogs. Basically, what you want to do is understand the baseline demand. In the real world, we would probably already have this data, but in the simulation we needed to figure that out. So most of the order backlogs occurred initially, and during promotion, when nobody was really certain of demand. Once it was established that demand was a fairly consistent 138 per week, it was much easier to align the orders, and keep inventory levels low.

The biggest issue with this situation is that the supplier was unable to deliver consistently. The supplier really did not seem to have the ability, even knowing what the demand was, to execute on that. My strategy as the wholesaler was simply to try to be an intermediary, and keep my inventory levels low. That is all I can do in...
[ View Full Essay]