| The present research is focused on the broad concept of "Supply Chain Management", a philosophy that has to do with the coordination and integration of complex interactions in the production-distribution chain of a business operation. This includes the flow of material and information from raw material suppliers to end-customers.;This thesis focuses on analyzing the Supply Chain from an inventory management point-of-view. Specifically, we propose a multi-stage, multi-period, multi-product, combinatorial inventory-planning model with stochastic demand. The mixed-integer programming model integrates the production and distribution planning processes of a large household appliance manufacturer located in Mexico. The proposed model determines the assignment of the finished goods production level (units), workforce level (labor hours), transportation mode, number of transportation consignments, and inventory levels (in units) as well as the allocation of information resources in order to minimize the total costs incurred in the system. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to test the robustness of the model.;All in all the major contribution of this research is the inclusion of the information resources allocation concept, which measures the trade-offs between the value of the information and the overall system costs.*.;*This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Adobe Acrobat. |
