Simulation-based evaluation of vendor-managed inventory approach for a FMCG supply chain

Currently, distributors of a FMCG company manage their inventories individually by placing weekly orders according to their needs and sell-in targets to the central manufacturing facility. Company is considering to shift to an alternative supply chain-wide stock management scheme; i.e. "Vendor Managed Inventory” model. In this model, the producer will be making replenishment decision centrally for all distributors in-line with their sell-out performance and agreed stock level. In this project, the team is expected to conduct a simulation-based analysis on the pros/cons of such a shift for the performance of the whole supply chain. The team will be using empirical demand and replenishement data of a real-scale supply chain for the past year.