Scholar Profiles
Denise Emerson
2003 - 2004 University Scholar
Mentor: Selwyn Piramuthu
Warrington College of Business Administration
"I applied to the USP because I believe that research is important in understanding the way businesses function. I hope to learn about the different ways supply chain communications can be configured to work efficiently."
Denise is a senior majoring in computer and information sciences with a minor in mass communication. Her academic interests include the application of information technology in the business world. She is the secretary of the Newman Club and the Women’s Committee, and also serves as social chair for the Association for Computing Machinery. She is a member of Golden Key International Honor Society and Collegiates Helping as Mentors in Public Schools. In her spare time, Denise enjoys baking, kickboxing, waterskiing, reading, and cheering for the Gators.
Research Description:
Impact of Dynamic Configurations on Supply Chains
Supply chain configuration has emerged as
one of the foremost challenges plaguing today’s business
world. Though the problem has been around since the birth of
commerce, advances in technology thrust supply chain configuration
to the forefront. The advent of electronic sharing of information
in the past decade provides the opportunity for members of a
supply chain to quickly change from one supplier or distributor
to another.
Using the Java programming language, I created the framework
of a supply chain configuration. The framework enables the evaluation
of the impacts on profits and efficiency due to the recently
acquired ability to quickly switch among different nodes in
the supply chain. The research determines the effects of factors
such as goodwill and inventory on the decision of each node
to dynamically switch among suppliers or distributors. An efficient
supply chain minimizes the cost while getting the right product
to the right place in a timely manner. Minimizing the storage
time of unused inventory often proves to be the greatest cost-saver
for any member of the supply chain. One of the most pressing
concerns is reliability of the supply chain. Because of the
bull-whip effect, small variations on one end of the supply
chain can lead to huge variations on the other end. Therefore,
it is necessary that all members of the supply chain have confidence
in its effectiveness. The research looks into the best ways
to efficiently configure a supply chain using input made possible
by information technology, thus reducing uncertainties at the
nodes and preventing the debilitating effects.
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