The bullwhip effect has been known to exist in manufacturing for a number of years,
being initially described and explained over half a century ago (Forrester, 1958), and
receiving its present label in 1997 (Lee et al., 1997). Nowadays, it is well recognized and
there is considerable evidence that product organizations are taking steps to minimize its
effects (Cachon et al., 2007). There is considerable knowledge of how it manifests itself,
what its root causes are and what managerial policies are available to mitigate its effects.