Who Gets the Whip? How Supplier Diversification Influences Bullwhip Effect in a Supply Chain

To navigate the evolving terrain of Supply Chains (SC), firms require new tools with broader applicability. Current research ignores the forest in favor of trees, with focal firms and serial networks assumed. This paper explicates a novel and scalable model for SC study at a broad level. We utilize the core of the model to observe the effect of structure and policy on demand disturbance in a SC as a whole. We find that complex structure alone does not effect change in disturbances; dynamic policy is necessary and sufficient for amplification. The model and simulations build to our main result: diversifying a firm's supplier-base can amplify disturbances more quickly.