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Published in:
2005 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
Production, Supply, and Traffic Systems: A Unified Description
Author : D. Helbing
Published in: Traffic and Granular Flow ’03
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
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The transport of products between different suppliers or production units can be described similarly to driven many-particle and traffic systems. We introduce equations for the flow of goods in supply networks and the adaptation of production speeds. Moreover, we present two examples: The case of linear (sequential) supply chains and the case of re-entrant production. In particular, we discuss the stability conditions, dynamic solutions, and resonance phenomena causing the frequently observed “bullwhip effect”, which is an analogue of stop-and-go traffic. Finally, we show how to treat discrete units and cycle times, which can be applied to the description of vehicle queues and travel times in freeway networks.