Countering Bullwhip Effect in Supply Chain Management: A Literature Review

In the present era of globalization, managing the supply chain has become a tedious task for every organization. Rapid changes in the demand of the customers, product shrinkage life cycle, a huge variety of products available, and presence of global-standard products have made it more difficult to carry out operations of the supply chain. Organizations look for techniques to streamline the supply chain, which includes production, inventory, and logistics. Although the term supply chain is only three-decade old, the magnitude and scope present in it lure the researchers. The amplification of demand as supply chain moves from customer to supplier is considered as the bullwhip effect. This distortion results in the disturbance of entire supply chain activities. This phenomenon is common across all types of supply chain within all types of industries. The present study tries to summarize the plethora of recent research being conducted to counter the bullwhip effect in supply chain. The study also categorizes research on various aspects such as techniques and methodology used to counter the bullwhip effect. It also provides the basic framework for researcher to look for recent development in various areas of research to counter the bullwhip effect.