Introduction

This book aims to introduce readers to solving management science problems analytically. Special attention will be given to supply chain issues. What are management science’s “problems”? First of all, “problems” may sound a bit negative. But mathematicians like that term. The words challenge and opportunity are preferred in the industry and business world. Traditional businesses have to be profitable to justify their existence. Hence, the management’s primary objective is financial. Thus, solving management science challenges is often concerned with increasing revenues, and minimising costs may be achieved by determining the correct quantity of products to manufacture to fulfil the market demand, given the limited resources. Another example is minimising transportation costs between suppliers and customers. So, profitability is generally based on an optimised, efficient business operation. This is related to Economics. Revenue generation is enabled by good marketing strategies (e.g. which products to sell and in what quantities) and effective human resource allocation (e.g. assigning the right person to a job). These examples shall suffice as a brief motivation about the benefits of solving Management Science challenges.