Multi-echelon inventory optimization seeks to minimize the total inventory in all of the echelons of a company's supply chain. This is more complicated than traditional inventory optimization because of the additional lead times between each echelon, the bullwhip effect, and the need to synchronize orders and control costs between echelons. Companies with this level of complexity in their supply chains must replenish and divide their inventories at each distrib ution point along the supply chain, as opposed to just one distribution point or even just the inventory of the initial supplier Each point in the supply chain is also unaware of the inventory levels of points beyond those that they have immediate contact with of visibility up and down the supply chain.