Papers for

supply chain managers

Papers whose findings have a practical use for this group, as judged from the abstract. Open a paper to read what it means in practice.

GenOR-Twin links operational logs with real time optimization decisions

GenOR-Twin: A Semantic Middleware for Integrating Operational Discourse with Mathematical Optimization

Abstract: We introduce GenOR-Twin, a neuro-symbolic framework that bridges the translation gap between unstructured operational logs and rigorous mathematical optimization. Our architecture uniquely positions Large Language Models as semantic translators rather than direct solvers, ensuring that the system retains the feasibility guarantees of exact combinatorial methods. { \color{red}We design a dynamic constraint injection mechanism (the runtime translation of qualitative disruption events into formal mathematical constraints) that allows the system to structurally modify the optimization problem's feasibility region in real-time based on qualitative human inputs. The resulting bidirectional coupling---where operational observations update the virtual model state and optimized decisions are reflected back into the Knowledge Graph---satisfies the synchronization requirement of a proper Digital Twin. The framework features an adaptive decision policy} that automatically selects between low-complexity schedule repair and full re-optimization by analyzing the available system slack. Finally, we demonstrate the generalization of this approach across six distinct optimization domains, {\color{red}turning static models into resilient systems that adapt to the operational uncertainty and variability of real-world environments.}

Fri 11 SeptMachine Learning
The gist
Many industries use detailed schedules and plans built from math, but they struggle to update these when unexpected events occur in everyday operations. This paper introduces GenOR-Twin, a system that uses AI language models to translate messy logs and human reports into formal rules that update mathematical planning models on the fly. This means schedules and plans can adjust in real-time to disruptions without losing mathematical guarantees. The system also keeps the digital model and real-world data synchronized, so decisions reflect current conditions. The authors show this works across six different types of scheduling and optimization problems.
Open 2609.12863v1

Buyers using AI reduce supplier environmental controversies

Buyer Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Environmental Governance and Supplier Environmental Controversies: An Organizational Information Processing and Signaling

Abstract: Environmental controversies in global supply chains pose significant risks for global buyers. This study examines whether overseas suppliers' exposure to buyers' artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled environmental governance reduces supplier environmental controversies. Drawing on organizational information processing theory and signaling theory, we investigate how suppliers' exposure to AI-enabled governance influences their environmental controversies and the institutional contingencies under which this effect varies. Using text analysis to measure buyer AI-enabled environmental governance, we analyze panel data on 2,505 suppliers of U.S.-listed firms across 41 countries from 2020 to 2024 with multidimensional fixed-effects models. We find that suppliers' exposure to buyer AI-enabled environmental governance is negatively associated with supplier environmental controversies in the following year. This negative relationship is stronger in supplier countries with higher AI readiness and regulatory quality. The study contributes to research on AI-enabled sustainability governance and sustainable supply chain risk management.

Thu 10 SeptComputers and SocietyArtificial Intelligence
The gist
Environmental problems with suppliers can create big risks for companies that buy their goods. The authors show that when buyers use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to oversee environmental actions, suppliers tend to have fewer environmental controversies the following year. This effect is stronger in countries where AI use is more common and environmental regulations are better. The study helps us understand how AI can support sustainability in global supply chains.
Open 2609.11391v1

Cooperative integer programming games improve coalition stability and optimization

Cooperative Integer Programming Games: Core Stability and Optimal Coalition Structures

Abstract: We introduce cooperative integer programming games (CIPGs), in which agents pool budget constraints to accomplish indivisible tasks jointly and the characteristic function maps every coalition to the optimal value of a pooled integer program. Our goal is to identify an optimal coalition structure (OCS) and a stable one (OSCS). We derive a stability inequality that keeps each formed coalition in the Core with respect to itself, and present two mixed-integer OCS formulations, aggregated and disaggregated, proving that the disaggregated formulation is integer-equivalent yet yields a tighter LP relaxation. Building on the stability inequality we develop lifted stability cuts, several separation strategies inside a cutting-plane algorithm, an SCS-feasible primal heuristic that constructs warm starts with guaranteed stability, and a payoff-refinement step computing the Shapley value and the nucleolus of every formed coalition. On benchmark cooperative knapsack games, the method certifies optimality with up to 16 players and reaches MIP gaps below 1% at 30 players while evaluating 766 of the roughly $10^9$ coalition values.

Thu 10 SeptComputer Science and Game Theory
The gist
This paper looks at how groups of agents can work together to accomplish tasks that can’t be split up easily. The authors create models where agents pool resources and use integer programming—a math method for decision-making where solutions are whole numbers—to find the best ways to form teams and share rewards. They develop new mathematical tools and algorithms that ensure these teams remain stable, meaning no subgroup would want to break away. Their approach was tested on examples similar to knapsack problems and showed good results even with many agents.
Open 2609.11116v1

Supplier placement predicts timing and amount of payable relief

Ex Ante Estimation of Payable Relief and Compensation Timing for Supplier Selection

Abstract: Supplier selection affects not only operating performance but also the payable network entered by a new obligation. This paper develops the Compensability Capacity Assessment (CCA), an ex ante buyer-supplier measure of expected gross payable relief and its likely timing. CPM provides the bounded structural kernel; concave CCA variants add bilateral invoice capacity. The measure is tested on 749,952 analytical invoices issued during 2012-2023, using frozen nine-month histories and future weekly, monthly, quarterly, semester, and annual windows. Cycle-restricted and path-enabled clearing are independent outcome-generating environments used to validate the measure, not technologies compared by this study. Across seven fully observed quarters in 2022-2023, log-CCA has a median Spearman correlation of 0.638 with future integrated relief; persistent relations carry 93.5% of relief, and the highest-scoring relation captures 92.5% of buyer-specific best relief. Predictability remains positive from week to year, with quarterly recalibration providing the best operating balance between signal, coverage, and timeliness. A timing analysis shows that, across the two validation environments, 89-91% of attributed relief occurs within seven days of invoice issue and 94-96% within thirty days, on average about sixteen days before contractual maturity. Log-CCA correlates 0.564 with thirty-day relief and 0.566 with relief-days. Its highest quartile has a 96.5% median probability of thirty-day compensation, compared with 57.6% in the lowest quartile. Conditional waiting-time prediction is weaker, so CCA should rank timely compensation opportunity rather than forecast an exact payment date. The findings link supplier placement, financial circularity, and working-capital exposure while motivating deployment, causal testing, and quarterly drift monitoring.

Mon 7 SeptSocial and Information Networks
The gist
Choosing which suppliers to work with affects how much and how quickly a company can delay payments without penalties. The authors created a measure called CCA that looks at past invoices to estimate the expected payment relief and when it will happen. They tested this on nearly 750,000 invoices and found that the measure reliably predicts payment timing and amount up to a year in advance. This helps businesses understand their cash flow risks before making supplier choices.
Open 2609.07293v1