Cargo Business Newswire

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

John Nash’s contribution to supply chain logistics

Renowned mathematician John Nash Jr. (86) and his wife Alicia (82), the subjects of the book/movie "A Beautiful Mind," were killed this past weekend in a car accident in New Jersey.

According to Forbes blogger Paul Martyn, Nash’s work is significant to the practice of modern day strategic sourcing. Although he did not invent "game theory," Nash extended the analysis beyond zero-sum and won a Nobel Prize in the process.

His work is not only key to the logic that governs various auction designs, but is even more relevant in

the context of complex and collaborative procurement environments. Martyn says just
about every online marketplace benefits from
Dr. Nash’s research.

Dr. Nash’s legacy will live on in the form of market clearing optimization algorithms that are becoming more common in today’s supply chain management, Martyn reports. These algorithms bring his research to life in everyday supply chain decision-making.

For more of the Forbes story: www.forbes.com