The efficient management of a distribution system requires coordination between transportation planning and inventory control. Small and frequent shipments can reduce inventory levels while maintaining high customer service levels, but they increase unit transportation costs due to inappropriate utilization of the vehicles and more handling costs. On the other hand shipment consolidation polici...

This paper explores the application of constrained clustering algorithms to inventory grouping based problems. Our research in this area is based upon a segmentation methodology that considers operationally relevant part attributes. In this paper, we present a brief review of literature on multi-echelon inventory models, and clustering applications to inventory segmentation. Finally, we discuss...

The theory on multi-echelon production/inventory systems is a core theory within supply chain management. It provides useful insights for design of supply chains and may be used for tactical and operational planning decisions. The multi-echelon theory started with the seminal paper of Clark and Scarf in 1960. In this tutorial, we describe for which systems optimal policies are known, which key ...

In this paper, we apply continuous review (S-1, S) policy for inventory control in a three-echelon supply chain (SC) including r identical retailers, a central warehouse with limited storage space, and two independent manufacturing plants which offer two kinds of product to the customer. The warehouse of the model follows (M/M/1) queue model where customer demands follow a Poisson probabilit...

An optimisation-based control framework that simultaneously determines the optimal inventory and product pricing policies is developed for multi-product, multi-echelon supply chain networks. The optimisation problem aims at adjusting the available manufacturing resources, product distribution, inventories and prices for the entire supply chain network to satisfy demand while maximising network ...

Starting in the 1960s, a number of academic works have focused in serial and distributed multi-echelon structures and in both deterministic and stochastic environments. Clark and Scarf (1960, 1962) developed a seminal work in which they presented optimal policies for a serial multi-echelon system. Schwartz (1973) studied a deterministic model having one warehouse and N retailers and showed that...

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...

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...

We consider a single-item, periodic-review, serial, multi-echelon inventory system, with linear inventory holding and penalty costs. In order to facilitate shipment consolidation and capacity planning, we assume the system has implemented periodic batching: each stage is allowed to order at given equidistant times. Further, for each stage except the most downstream one, the reorder interval is ...