supply chain management, inventory control, perishable goods, bullwhip effect, robust model predictive control
The research activity is focused on the optimal inventory control problem for multi-stage supply chains with uncertain dynamics. The two sources of uncertainty are the perishability factor of the stocked goods and the customer forecast information. The problem of control is to define an optimal replenishment policy able to reconcile opposite control requirements: maximizing the satisfied demand, minimizing the level of stocks and mitigating the bullwhip effect. The solution is based on minimax model predictive control, robust least squares and B spline parametrization.
