Fuzzy point estimation and its application on fuzzy supply chain analysis

This work describes fuzzy point estimation that reflects the subjective measurement of a real number or an interval of real numbers and a new set of definitions for arithmetic operations on fuzzy points. In today's changing business world, there is a growing need to manage the supply chains of products to allow businesses to offer competitive prices to their customers. Managing the supply chains is becoming more complex because of market uncertainties. This paper provides a new approach to model the uncertainties involved in the supply chain management using the fuzzy point estimation. This work provides a clearer description and analysis framework mathematically for supply chain management. Based on the stationary strategy established by the author, the order-up-to levels may be calculated by means of formulae directly under a certain stationary condition and then the optimal solution may be gotten for a stationary supply chain. This paper is intended to open a window toward the complete results for the analysis of non-stationary supply chains. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.