Technical Note—Optimal Structural Results for Assemble-to-Order GeneralizedM-Systems

New Functional Characterizations and Optimal Structural Results for Assemble-to-Order Generalized M -Systems

We consider an assemble-to-order generalized M -system with multiple components and multiple products, batch ordering of components, random lead times, and lost sales. We model the system as an infinite-horizon Markov decision process and seek an optimal control policy, which specifies when a batch of components should be produced and whether an arriving demand for each product should be satisf...

New Functional Characterizations and Optimal Structural Results for Assemble-to-Order M-Systems

Exact Simulation for Assemble-To-Order Systems

We develop exact simulation (also known as perfect sampling) algorithms for a family of assemble-to-order systems. Due to the finite capacity, and coupling in demands and replenishments, known solving techniques are inefficient for larger problem instances. We first consider the case with individual replenishments of items, and derive an event based representation of the Markov chain that allow...

Optimal Control of Assemble-to-Order Systems

We consider the optimal control of an assemble-to-order (ATO) system with m components, a single end-product, and n customer classes. Demand from each class occurs continuously over time according to a Poisson process. Components are produced in separate production facilities, each with a finite production rate and exponentially distributed production times. Components can be stocked ahead of d...

On component commonality for periodic review assemble-to-order systems

We study the value of component commonality in a periodic review assemble-to-order system, introduced by Akçay and Xu in 2004, where an independent base stock policy and a first-come-first-served allocation rule are used, and the base stock levels and the component allocation are optimized jointly. We show that lowering component commonality may yield a higher type-II service level. The lower d...