In many multi-echelon inventory systems, the lead times are random variables. A common and reasonable assumption in most models is that replenishment orders do not cross, which implies that successive lead times are correlated. However, the process that generates such lead times is usually not well defined, which is especially a problem for simulation modeling. In this paper, we use results fro...

As the industrial environment becomes more competitive, supply chain management has become essential. The objective of this research is to develop a multi-echelon inventory model for a deteriorating item and to derive an optimal joint total cost from an integrated perspective among the supplier, the producer, and the buyer. A computer code is developed to derive the optimal solution. A numerica...

⎯We consider a two-echelon supply chain with two retailers and one supplier. The retailers are supplied by the supplier who makes all the decisions and bears all the inventory risk. Throughout this paper, we consider two different inventory systems: a reserved inventory system and a pooled inventory system. With the reserved inventory system, the supplier keeps separate inventories for each ret...

A comprehensive and integrated study of any supply chain (SC) environment is a vital requirement that can create various advantages for the SC owners. This consideration causes productive managing of the SC through its whole wide components from upstream suppliers to downstream retailers and customers.  On this issue, despite many valuable studies reported in the current literature, considerabl...

Coordination of Supply Chain Inventory Systems with Private Information. (December 2006) Chi-Leung Chu, B.B.A., The Chinese University of Hong Kong; M.B.A., University of New Mexico; M.S., Case Western Reserve University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. V. Jorge Leon This dissertation considers the problems of coordinating different supply chain inventory systems with private information under ...

We consider the classic continuous-review N stage serial inventory system with a homogeneous Poisson demand arrival process at the most downstream stage (Stage 1). Any shipment to each stage, regardless of its size, incurs a positive fixed setup cost and takes a positive constant lead time. The optimal policy for this system under the long-run average cost criterion is unknown. Finding a good w...

Inventory control policies have been recognized as a contributory factor to the bullwhip effect and inventory instability. Previous studies have indicated that there is a trade-off between bullwhip effect and inventory performance where the bullwhip effect reduction might increase inventory instability. Therefore, there is a need for inventory control policies that can cope with supply chain dy...

This paper deals with divergent logistic networks where the inventory at each node is controlled using a periodic review strategy with order-up-to level. An approximate method is presented to analyse the network performance (service levels, mean physical stock). The method is tested on a range of Z-echelon and 3-echelon networks by comparison to results from Monte Carlo simulation. We conclude ...

In a production-inventory system, the manufacturer produces the items at a rate, e.g. R, dispatches the order quantities to the customers in specific intervals and stores the excess inventory for subsequent deliveries. Therefore each inventory cycle of the manufacturer can be divided into two phases, first is the period of production, the second is when the manufacturer does not do any producti...