Jay Forrester
Jay Forrester was an American engineer and MIT professor who invented magnetic core memory and founded system dynamics, publishing Industrial Dynamics in 1961.
What they did and why it matters
Forrester first showed with models that supply chain inventory swings are caused mainly by the system's own structure of delays and ordering rules, not just by customer demand. Studying a General Electric appliance factory, he found that small changes in retail sales grew into large swings in orders and production upstream, the pattern later named the bullwhip effect. His work led to the Beer Distribution Game used in business schools. For brands, the practical lesson is that sharing real sell-through data and shortening lead times stabilizes replenishment better than reacting to each order.