Demand for spare parts is typically intermittent and forecasting the relevant requirements constitutes a very challenging exercise Why is the demand for spare parts intermittent and how can we use models developed in maintenance research to forecast such demand? We attempt to answer these questions; we present a novel idea to forecast demand that relies upon the very sources of the demand generation process and we compare it with a well-known time-series method We conclude that maintenance driven models are associated with a better performance under certain conditions We also outline an inter-disciplinary agenda for further research in this area

Spare parts demand : linking forecasting to equipment maintenance

An approach for analysing transportation costs and a case study

Bulk wheat transportation and storage problem of public distribution system

This paper addresses some of the challenges faced by a company which is responsible for delivering coal to its four subsidiaries situated along a river, through river hired or self-owned vessels We propose to adopt a vendor managed inventory concept that involves establishment of a central warehouse at the port, and apply the Markov Decision Process (MDP) to formulate both ordering and delivery problems, considering different transportation modes, costs, and inventory issues An efficient algorithm is developed for solving the MDP models Our computational tests show that the proposed strategy can significantly reduce the overall system costs while maintaining smooth Just-in-Time supplies of coal to the subsidiaries

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Integration of Inventory and Transportation Decisions in a Logistics System

Typology and literature review on multiple supplier inventory control models

We present an optimization-based model to gain insights into the integrated inventory and transportation problem for a single-echelon, multi-facility service parts logistics system with time-based service level constraints. As an optimization goal we minimize the relevant inventory and transportation costs while ensuring that service constraints are met. The model builds on stochastic base-stock inventory model and integrates it with transportation options and service responsiveness that can be achieved using alternate modes (namely slow, medium and fast). The results obtained through different networks show that significant benefits can be obtained from transportation mode and inventory integration.

Divi Lohiya

Papers

Integrated inventory and transportation mode selection: A service parts logistics system