A multi criteria decision making scheme to classify and forecast the demand for perishable products

This project is now closed. The details below are for information purposes only. Please see the Operations and Systems Management Postgraduate Research Degree page for further opportunities.

The PhD will be based in the Faculty of Business and Law and will be supervised by: Dr Huijing Chen, Dr Maria Barbati and Professor Salvatore Greco.

The Faculty of Business and Law offers funding to attend conferences (currently £550), training (currently £450), and a work-based placement (currently a maximum of £3,000 tied up to the period of 12 weeks).

Demand forecasting is a task faced by many organisations. Typically large amount of forecasts are prepared at Stock-Keeping Unit level for production, replenishment and stock purposes. There are many demand classification schemes, often devised with the aid of MCDM techniques, in order to find the best forecasting methods and inventory policies for different classes [3]. Many of these classifications are developed specifically for spare parts and intermittent demand [2]. This project, however, focuses on fast-moving and perishable products. No such scheme exists, where the requirements can be very different from spare parts and accurate and timely forecasting is all the more important to reduce waste and ensure sustainability.

Modelling and computational advances over the years have seen fast development and availability of model-based forecasting methods. This project will develop a demand classification specifically suited for perishable products and identify appropriate forecasting methods. A portfolio of these methods can be suggested to the company, according to a variety of objectives to be taken into account and that can be explicated thanks to the interaction with the planners [1].

Using a real organisation as a case study, the multi-criteria classification scheme will be tested and benchmarked against the company’s current forecasting practice, which is mainly judgmental, prepared by planners with little or no statistical background. This project will also investigate how training can improve forecasting performance by (1) aiding understanding and acceptance of model-based forecasting, (2) guiding towards value-added judgmental adjustment where necessary and (3) fostering a continuous improvement culture.

The main research objectives of this project are:

1. Develop a MCDM scheme based on demand classification and identify appropriate forecasting methods for the scheme;
2. Empirically test and measure the performance of such a scheme;
3. Design effective training for planning personnel to adopt the scheme and improve judgmental decision making;
4. Measure ongoing improvement in forecasting practice and organizational benefits in sustainability.

References

Barbati, M., Greco, S., Kadziński, M., & Słowiński, R. (2018). Optimization of multiple satisfaction levels in portfolio decision analysis. Omega, 78, 192-204.

Hu, Q., Boylan, J. E., Chen, H., & Labib, A. (2018). OR in spare parts management: A review. European Journal of Operational Research, 266(2), 395-414.

Roda, I., Macchi, M., Fumagalli, L., & Viveros, P. (2014). A review of multi-criteria classification of spare parts: From literature analysis to industrial evidences. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 25(4), 528-549.

Fees and funding

PhD full-time and part-time courses are eligible for the UK Government Doctoral Loan (UK and EU students only).

2021/2022 fees (applicable for October 2021 and February 2022 start)

PhD and MPhil

Home/EU/CI full-time students: £4,407 p/a*
Home/EU/CI part-time students: £2,204 p/a*
International full-time students: £16,300 - £17,600p/a
International part-time students: £8,150 - £8,800 p/a

PhD by Publication

External candidates: £4,407*

Members of staff: £1,720 
 
All fees are subject to annual increase. If you are an EU student starting a programme in 2021/22 please visit this page.

*This is the 2020/21 UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) maximum studentship fee; this fee will increase to the 2021/22 UKRI maximum studentship fee when UKRI announces this rate in Spring 2021.

Bench fees

Some PhD projects may include additional fees – known as bench fees – for equipment and other consumables, and these will be added to your standard tuition fee. Speak to the supervisory team during your interview about any additional fees you may have to pay. Please note, bench fees are not eligible for discounts and are non-refundable.