In managing business process flows, safety stock can be used to protect against stockouts due to demand variability. When more than one location is involved, the concept of aggregation enables the pooling of demands and associated inventories, resulting in improved service levels without increasing the total level of safety stock. This pooling of…

A national industrial distribution association approached the authors to develop a case study for its association members. The national association assumed responsibility for identifying educational needs of upper level, mid level, and lower level personnel in the industry. In the previous year, a case study had been developed to educate upper…