Consider a three-firm supply chain consisting of a retailer, manufacturer, and supplier. The retailers demand over an 8-week period was 105 units each of the first 2 weeks, 220 units each of the second 2 weeks, 280 units each of the third 2 weeks, and 400 units each of the fourth 2 weeks. The following table presents the orders placed by each firm in the supply chain. Notice, as is often the case in supply chains due to economies of scale, that total units are the same in each case, but firms further up the supply chain (away from the retailer) place larger, less frequent, orders.
WEEK RETAILER MANUFACTURER SUPPLIER
1 105 210 650
2 105
3 220 440
4 220
5 280 560 1360
6 280
7 400 800
8 400
a) What is the bullwhip measure for the retailer?
b) What is the bullwhip measure for the manufacturer?
c) What is the bullwhip measure for the supplier?