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Open research questions in Supply Chain and Inventory Management

72 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 1,265 Supply Chain and Inventory Management papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The problem involves multiple items, multiple periods, and quantity discounts, making it complex and challenging to solve. The non-linearities introduced by quantity discounts complicate the problem. The need to evaluate suppliers beyond just cost adds to the complexity.

    A finite dominating set approach for the multi-item multi-period order allocation problem under all-unit quantity discounts and blending ratios · 2026 · DOI

  • The multi-item multi-period order allocation problem under all-unit quantity discounts and blending ratios is a complex and challenging problem. Prior work has focused on single-item, single-period models, leaving a gap in addressing the multi-item, multi-period problem.

    A finite dominating set approach for the multi-item multi-period order allocation problem under all-unit quantity discounts and blending ratios · 2026 · DOI

  • Traditional mass retail suffers from severe homogenization and outdated supply chain and operational models. Membership-based retail has rapidly emerged, achieving counter-trend expansion through streamlined product selection, high turnover operations, and strong user stickiness. The need for retailers to improve their supply chain efficiency and product differentiation to remain competitive.

    Comparative Analysis of Traditional Mass Merchandise and Membership Warehouse Retail Supply Chain Models: Evidence from RT-Mart and Sam's Club · 2026 · DOI

  • Excessive inventory increases storage and capital holding costs. Insufficient inventory may interrupt production and reduce firms' ability to satisfy customer demand. Micro culinary enterprises operate with limited financial resources and simple managerial practices.

    Optimizing rice inventory in a micro culinary enterprise using economic order quantity · 2026 · DOI

  • The U.S. and its allies are tightening export controls on semiconductor equipment. The products of the main domestic supplier, Shanghai Micro Electronics, are still limited to mature process nodes. The study faces major challenges in finding a better balance between older, imported equipment and new domestic alternatives.

    Navigating Geopolitical Risk: A Multi- Objective Optimization Framework for Dual-Source Procurement of Advanced Lithography Equipment at SMIC · 2026 · DOI

  • The study does not provide a systematic way to weigh the risks involved in dual-sourcing procurement. The products of the main domestic supplier, Shanghai Micro Electronics, are still limited to mature process nodes.

    Navigating Geopolitical Risk: A Multi- Objective Optimization Framework for Dual-Source Procurement of Advanced Lithography Equipment at SMIC · 2026 · DOI

  • Cornerstone computational questions around inventory staggering remain unresolved. Theoretical front: a steady stream of advances, but still much to be discovered.

    New Approximation Guarantees for the Inventory Staggering Problem · 2026 · DOI

  • The computational complexity of the downstream matching problem. The lack of direct evaluation of placement decisions. The need for an approximation algorithm for inventory placement optimization under the Offline surrogate.

    Optimizing Inventory Placement for a Downstream Online Matching Problem · 2026 · DOI

  • The authors suggest future research directions for developing more efficient fulfillment policies for e-commerce retailers. The authors suggest future research directions for evaluating the performance of different placement procedures based on optimizing surrogate functions. The authors suggest future research directions for developing more accurate demand models for e-commerce retailers.

    Optimizing Inventory Placement for a Downstream Online Matching Problem · 2026 · DOI

  • Traditional rule engines are not designed to support controlled, auditable, and governance-driven allocation overrides at the sales order line level. In high-volatility supply environments, deterministic allocation logic may produce concentration bias and revenue timing distortion.

    A Controlled Line-Level Override Framework For High-Volatility Supply Environments · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in current biomass supply chain literature. The gap is related to inventory control under seasonal biomass feedstock and demand uncertainty.

    Biomass inventory optimization for willow-based pellet production integrating seasonal supply and stochastic demand · 2026 · DOI

  • By leveraging combinatorics and number theory, the authors design polynomial-time approximation schemes for multiple operational settings—including nested and pairwise coprime instances—resolving several long-standing open questions.

    New Approximation Guarantees for the Inventory Staggering Problem · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap in the literature is the lack of attention to the problems that arise when the sample contains a significant proportion of observations with zero expenditures. The gap in the literature is the lack of a method for estimating consumer demand systems with binding non-negativity constraints.

    Estimation of consumer demand systems with binding non-negativity constraints · 1983 · DOI

  • The gap in the literature is the lack of understanding of the origins of the terminology 'supply and demand'.

    ORIGINS OF THE TERMINOLOGY “SUPPLY AND DEMAND”* · 1983 · DOI

  • Future research can explore the application of reinforcement learning to more complex inventory management problems. The study can be extended to consider multiple products and more realistic demand patterns.

    Multi-objective inventory optimization using reinforcement learning: a comparative study on profitability and carbon emissions · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a research gap in applying reinforcement learning to inventory management, particularly in studies that jointly consider economic and environmental objectives. The literature indicates that studies treating carbon emissions as an independent objective in inventory management have largely relied on mathematical formulations and metaheuristic techniques.

    Multi-objective inventory optimization using reinforcement learning: a comparative study on profitability and carbon emissions · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap between industrial systems engineering and healthcare administration. The lack of advanced control systems to mitigate financial losses in hospital supply chains.

    Cost Leakage Points in Hospital Supply Chain and Control Methods: A Comprehensive Literature Review · 2026 · DOI

  • The continuous evolution of both medical logistics and control theory provides fertile ground for future research expansions. Exploration of Quantum Optimization: As supply chains become increasingly global and complex, future work should investigate the application of quantum control methods to solve massive, non-convex logistics optimization problems. Techniques utilized for robust entanglement in multi-level quantum systems (Valahu et al., 2022) (Randall et al., 2017) and quantum Lyapunov control for system convergence (Cong & Meng, 2013) could eventually be abstracted to manage the exponentially growing variables in global medical procurement. Dynamic Game-Theoretic Budgeting: Future research should deeply integrate dynamic game theory models (Wang et al., 2020) to create intelligent incentive structures. By modelling hospital departments as autonomous agents within a cooperative game, administrators could design automated budgetary rewards that natively discourage hoarding and rogue purchasing, individual departmental goals with holistic hospital financial health.

    Cost Leakage Points in Hospital Supply Chain and Control Methods: A Comprehensive Literature Review · 2026 · DOI

  • Traditional traceability methods have a fatal flaw: data are vulnerable to tampering. There is a need to incorporate reciprocal preferences into a blockchain-enabled traceability goodwill supply chain.

    A Dynamic Optimization and Coordination for a Supply Chain with Reciprocal Preferences and Blockchain-Enabled Traceability Goodwill · 2026 · DOI

  • The traditional traceability technologies are increasingly replaced by the blockchain due to data tampering risks. Application and promotion of blockchain technology by supply chain members is conducive to improving the BTG, and the enhancement of the BTG through dynamic collaboration has emerged as a critical issue in supply chain management. This study considers that consumer demand is influenced by the BTG. 123 A Dynamic Optimization and Coordination for a Supply Chain · · · Table 7 Values of Blockchain Traceability Trust Rates for different ηM ηM 15 17 18 19 20 G D1 G D2 GC1 GC2 G S1 G S2 G E1 G E2 G P1 G P2 6.795 6.011 5.710 5.447 5.216 9.263 8.193 7.789 7.434 7.118 8.315 7.351 6.983 6.658 6.368 11.723 10.368 9.851 9.395 8.989 7.351 6.500 6.175 5.889 5.633 10.158 8.983 8.526 8.132 7.789 7.991 7.064 6.711 6.404 6.135 11.192 9.895 9.395 8.965 8.595 8.868 7.842 7.447 7.105 6.803 12.513 11.070 10.526 10.053 9.632 Table 8 Values of VSC under different η1 η1 8.0 10.5 13.0 15.5 18.0 V D SC 8 701.30 8 213.21 7 891.42 7 673.30 7 515.77 V C SC 9 306.24 8 795.70 8 460.10 8 232.63 8 068.34 V S SC 8 793.15 8 305.06 7 983.27 7 765.15 7 607.62 V E SC 6 999.48 6 476.24 6 154.25 5 936.13 5 778.59 V P SC 8 893.57 8 348.50 8 013.08 7 785.86 7 621.75 We develop a multi-stage differential game model that incorporates both horizontal competition between the retailers and vertical manufacturer-retailers interaction under a Stackelberg framework. The equilibrium strategies characteristics under different coordination mechanisms are revealed through a comparative analysis of five scenarios. The influence mechanism of the blockchain investment level of the manufacturer and the promotion effort of the retailers on the evolutionary path of the BTG are systematically analyzed. Furthermore, the advantages of the smart cost-sharing contract in supply chain coordination, as well as the reference significance of reciprocal preferences on consumer trust and the long-term cooperative stability of the supply chain, are explored. (1) The optimal promotion effect of the blockchain-enabled traceability for the retailers and the optimal level of the blockchain investment for the manufacturer are influenced by competitive intensity. Under decentralized decision-making, the retailers amplify their promotional efforts in response to market competition, whereas under centralized decision-making, the promotion is predominantly undertaken by the higher-profit retailer. Concurrently, the manufacturer’s investment is strategically increased to bolster the BTG of the lower-profit retailer as competition intensifies, thereby maximizing the overall supply chain profit. Therefore, firms should adjust promotional strategies and technology investments based on competitive intensity. Such resource allocation can enhance both the retailer performance and overall supply chain profitability.

    A Dynamic Optimization and Coordination for a Supply Chain with Reciprocal Preferences and Blockchain-Enabled Traceability Goodwill · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap is that existing studies have not fully revealed the impact of improved cost information verifiability on upstream and downstream pricing power. The gap is that existing studies have not systematically analyzed the endogenous correlation between blockchain investment intensity, information sharing depth, and channel encroachment decisions under cost opacity.

    Research on Manufacturer Channel Strategies with the Cost Transparency Role of Blockchain and the Impact of Investment Efforts · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper suggests extending the insights to non-i.i.d. donation and demand models. The paper suggests exploring fairness notions beyond envy-freeness.

    Sequential Fair Allocation With Replenishments: A Little Envy Goes An Exponentially Long Way · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in existing work on repeated resource allocation settings with stochastic replenishments. The gap is that existing work does not characterize the envy-inefficiency trade-offs in such settings.

    Sequential Fair Allocation With Replenishments: A Little Envy Goes An Exponentially Long Way · 2026 · DOI

  • RT-Mart's insufficient supply chain efficiency and weak product differentiation. RT-Mart's reliance on dealer channels, resulting in long supply chain links, high costs, and low inventory turnover efficiency. Sam's Club's limited market coverage and high consumption threshold. The membership fee and high unit price of Sam's Club limit its audience to high-end families.

    Comparative Analysis of Traditional Mass Merchandise and Membership Warehouse Retail Supply Chain Models: Evidence from RT-Mart and Sam's Club · 2026 · DOI

  • The problem of constrained multi-item EOQ under stochastic demand is not well addressed in the literature. There is a need for a generalized formulation for the finite planning horizon.

    An N-period dynamic programming model for constrained multi-item EOQ under stochastic demand · 2026 · DOI

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72 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 1,265 Supply Chain and Inventory Management papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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