Industrial Engineer - August 2007; Volume 39, Number 8
The Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech's Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering is leading an international consortium to improve temperature-controlled supply chains and reduce the variability that wine is subject to in its journey to the consumer. With the expertise of professors John Bartholdi, Ph.D., and Don Ratliff, Ph.D., the Georgia Tech team is collaborating with colleagues from around the world to form the Wine Supply Chain Council. There are many challenges to moving wine, said Bartholdi, beginning with its status as a natural product. Since timing is determined by nature, not planning schedules, the initial portion of the supply chain is a push system. This must be matched with the remainder of the supply chain which is a pull system, moving products only in response to customer demand. To read the full story, visit www.iienet.org (membership required).