In an upstream supply chain dedicated to the mass production of customized products, many sources of production instability can be identified: the level and structure of the production of the final assembly line, the variability of lead times, the quality issues, packaging and loading constraints in transport, the anticipation of the demand, the synchronization of the flows of the components sent, received and produced. In the case of periodic replenishment policies, two different safety stocks are needed for every plant of the supply chain, which prevent from these various sources of fluctuations: a safety stock of produced components to face up to the demand of its downstream links and a safety stock of supplied components to face up to its production. The mobilized procedures must take into account the organizational framework of the exchanges of information and products. The relevance of the supply and production rules is based on the relevance of structural information broadcast along the supply chain.
