Multiple-supplier inventory models in supply chain management: A review

This paper reviews inventory models with multiple supply options and discusses their contribution to supply chain management. After discussing strategic aspects of supplier competition and the role of operational flexibility in global sourcing, inventory models which use several suppliers in order to avoid or reduce the effects of shortage situations are outlined. Further, related inventory problems from the fields of reverse logistics and multi-echelon systems are presented. Finally, issues for future research and a synthesis of available supply chain management and multiple supplier inventory models are discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.