A decision support system for managing inventory at GlaxoSmithKline

  • Authors:

  • Jennifer Shang;Pandu R. Tadikamalla;Laurie J. Kirsch;Lawrence Brown

  • Affiliations:

  • The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, 230 Mervis Hall, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA;The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, 258 Mervis Hall, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA;The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, 361 Mervis Hall, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA;GlaxoSmithKline, 1000 GSK Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15108, USA

  • Venue:
  • Decision Support Systems
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

Firms often turn to supply chain software to streamline and standardize operations. A challenge is how to best utilize the data provided by the software. One approach is to import the data into Decision Support Systems (DSS) to build special-purposed decision aids. This paper presents an effective inventory management model for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The DSS effectively determines the safety stock level and the number of weeks forward coverage (WFC) for each SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). We discuss GSK's experiences relative to the literature on DSS design, implementation, and usage. This research shows implementing the proposed decision support system would provide GSK a distinct competitive advantage. However, careful implementation is necessary to fully realize the potential of the DSS.