An arborescent distribution system is a multi-level system in which each installation receives input from a unique immediate predecessor and supplies one or more immediate successors. In this paper, it is shown that a distribution system with an arborescent structure can also be modelled using an echelon stock concept where at any instant the total echelon holding cost is accumulated at the sam...

In this paper, we establish the convexity of important cost functions in a general class of multi-echelon inventory models. In particular, we first study an assembly system with a single finished product managed using an echelon order-up-to policy. We show that the shortage penalty cost over any horizon is jointly convex with respect to the base-stock levels and capacity levels. Our second resu...

To cope with current turbulent market demands, more robust inventory policies are needed for distribution networks, to lower the inventory cost as well as maintain high responsiveness. This paper analyzes the inventory policies in the context of complex multiechelon distribution networks and proposes an optimization and simulation integrating approach to robust inventory policies selection for ...

this paper aims to investigate the integrated production/distribution and inventory planning for perishable products with fixed life time in the constant condition of storage throughout a two-echelon supply chain by integrating producers and distributors. this problem arises from real environment in which multi-plant with multi-function lines produce multi-perishable products with fixed life ti...

This paper studies a two-echelon supply chain with stochastic and discrete consumer demand, batch order quantities, periodic inventory review, and deterministic transportation times. Reorder point policies manage inventories at every location. Average inventory, backorders and fill rates are evaluated exactly for each location. Safety stock is evaluated exactly at the lower echelon and a good a...

In supply chain networks, the flow of material occurs between various business entities such as suppliers, manufactures, distributors and retailers, which can be considered as the various echelons (levels) in a multi-echelon supply chain network. Spare parts supply chain management deals with optimizing stocking, purchasing, repairing and disposing activities of purchased parts and their compon...

The effective management of supply chains depends upon the ability of decision makers to control inventory while maintaining customer service at low cost. This paper examines an analytical model for the two-echelon one warehouse and multiple retailers system using (R, Q) inventory policies. A simulation model was developed to analyze the performance of the analytical model under conditions that...

We consider the problem of minimizing the overall cost of a supply chain, over a possibility long horizon, under demand uncertainly which is known only crudely. Under such circumstances, the method of choice is Robust Optimization, in particular the Affinely Adjustable Robust Counterpart (AARC) method which leads to tractable deterministic optimization problems. The latter is due to a recent re...