(s,S) Inventory Policies for a Wholesale Warehouse Inventory System.

摘要

Inventory managers often encounter erratic demand histories which are difficult to model. For example, periods of no demand are frequently observed, and when demand is positive, it tends to be quite large. Furthermore, periods of high demand are followed by several periods of low demand. One possible explanation for this sporadic and correlated demand behavior is that demand originates from separate facilities which employ (s,S) replenishment policies. That is, each period's demand is the sum of the replenishment order quantities received from other facilities. In this investigation we consider the management of an inventory system exposed to this type of demand environment. The complex nature of the demand history that arises in such a wholesale warehouse environment makes the computation of optimal replenishment policies prohibitive. We confine our attention, therefore, to stationary policies of the (s,S) form, and estimate the best values of the policy parameters by means of computer simulation.