Chaos Synchronization of Bullwhip Effect in a Supply Chain

Abstract

Supply chain is a complex and nonlinear system in which chaos is in general prevalent. This article models the supply chain management with a proposed tri-echelon theoretical framework, showing that it can be transformed into Lorenz equation of state under certain conditions and chaos arises. This article moves one step deeper into the causes and negative impacts of bullwhip effect in a supply chain chaos system. The radial basis function (RBF) neural network parameter - training approach is utilized to dampen bullwhip effect and the methodology is presented for the design of chaos synchronization controller in this article. Simulation test demonstrates that this methodology is effective in that it helps reduce and mitigate bullwhip effect and provide additional insights into theory and practice