The Rediscovery of Industrial Dynamics

H. Akkermans and The rediscovery N. Dellaert: The Rediscovery of Industrial Dynamics 173 of industrial dynamics: the contribution of system dynamics to supply chain management in a dynamic and fragmented world

Henk Akkermansa* and Nico Dellaertb

Henk Akkermans is Professor of Aerospace Network Dynamics at Tilburg University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, and co-founder and director of Minase BV, also in Tilburg, The Netherlands. His research interests lie in better understanding and management of the dynamics in innovation-driven supply chains and networks, for which he employs system dynamics modelling and simulation. Henk Akkermans has published many articles on SCMrelated topics in academic journals and has been applying system dynamics to supply-chain related issues for high-tech companies in aerospace, electronics, telecom, biotech and IT for 15 years. Nico Dellaert is Associate Professor in Operations Planning and Control at the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Faculty of Technology Management, and director of the

Abstract The field of supply chain management (SCM) almost started with the publication of Forrester’s Industrial Dynamics, but it seems that the relevance of this seminal publication for the field of system dynamics has never been so relevant for the field of SCM than today. In this introduction to the special issue of the System Dynamics Review on the Dynamics of Supply Chains and Networks, the authors make this statement on the basis of the articles that have found their way into this special issue, and on a brief review of SCM practice and theory for the past four decades. They explain why this recent and late rediscovery of industrial dynamics is understandable, and also point at sensible and likely areas of further cross-fertilization of system dynamics and SCM. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Syst. Dyn. Rev. 21, 173–186, (2005)

Introduction

Just over 20 years ago, the Harvard Business Review (HBR) published an...