The purpose of this study was to present a simplified supply chain model where the relations between the number of competitors, the delay in production adjustments, and the intensity response of each company lead, intrinsically, to the emergence of chaotic oscillations in supply and demand. In the considered model, developed with the use of the System Dynamics methodology, the irregular fluctuations in demand and prices are closely related to the supply chain structure, that is, its rules, policies and capabilities. Discussions about the importance of the study of chaos applied to the economy are developed and specific techniques for characterization of chaotic behavior in economic time series are presented.
Supply chain; Chaotic cycles; System dynamics
