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More and more enterprises use returnable transport and handling items (RTI) such as pallets, crates and roll containers, for cost and environmental reasons. These items flow in closed-loop within a supply chain. The management of the RTI influences the performance of all the chain. In this paper, we take an interest in the impact of delivery cost and delay of empty RTI. To solve this problem, we propose a mathematical model and different scenarios are tested to analyze the cost impact. We apply this model to a test problem based on a real life application.

This paper deals with the application of statistical tests to Multi-Criteria Decision Making problems in the context of scheduling nonpreemptable jobs. This study synthesizes the results of the application of our framework to a real-life, highly constrained, discrete-continuous problem. The purpose of this paper is to compare the solutions of five scheduling strategies so as to select the most adequate scheduling strategy when considering the decision-maker's preferences and the economic context. The solutions are ranked via a lexicographical sort or a multicriteria analysis and validated by parametric and non-parametric statistical tests.

In this paper, we describe a generic scalable simulation model for the redesign and the global optimization of the supply chain of multi-site enterprises. Our model makes it possible to reproduce the dynamics of the supply chain and the information and material flows between its various entities. In particular, we concentrate on the modeling of the activities which take place both in and between the production and distribution centers. The model is designed to provide an in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness and the robustness of a certain number of network designs and to settle various management policies.

The paper presents and discusses a structure and components of a distributed decision making system for complex discrete systems and processes control. The decision-making nucleus of the system – System Dynamics Builder (SD Builder) – is described. The SD Builder is based on a hierarchical object-based representation of a complex discrete system and on a production rules based representation of discrete processes. It allows the using of on-line simulations, state-graph search, expert systems and other methods for decision making. A conceptual prototype of a sawmill in a timber factory illustrates the concepts described in the paper. In a case of a manufacturing system, the decision making system makes a part of a manufacturing execution system (MES).