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Part 1

Consider a three-firm supply chain consisting of a retailer, manufacturer, and supplier. The retailer's demand over an 8-week period was

90

units each of the first 2 weeks,

190

units each of the second 2 weeks,

310

units each of the third 2 weeks, and

410

units each of the fourth 2 weeks. The following table presents the orders placed by each firm in the supply chain. Notice, as is often the case in supply chains due to economies of scale, that total units are the same in each case, but firms further up the supply chain (away from the retailer) place larger, less frequent, orders.

Week Retailer Manufacturer Supplier 1 90 180 560 2 90 0 0 3 190 380 0 4 190 0 0 5 310 620 1,440 6 310 0 0 7 410 820 0 8 410 0 0