Simulating the impact of external factors on aerospace supply chains

Specifically, this research simulates the combined influence of exchange rates, inflation, price escalation, fuel prices, export tariffs and aircraft demand on the supply chain’s performance due to their relevance to the industry. A real life multi-tier supply chain is used as an exemplar for the developed modelling approach while a case study concerning a real-life inventory management problem demonstrates its applicability to support decision making.<br><br>The results demonstrate the unique insights that the developed modelling approach can provide to users regarding the influence of these external factors on their suppliers’ performance, enabling a greater understanding of the impact of their decisions from the suppliers’ perspective.

These insights can be applied to identify risks within the supply chain and opportunities to enhance its performance through collaborative efforts. Techniques to reduce the time and effort required to construct and execute detailed simulation models are also presented, including the generation of manufacturing cycle time data via physics-based calculations and leveraging the strengths of the developed modelling approach to re-use simulation report files.