Inventory theory

About: Inventory theory is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3524 publications have been published within this topic receiving 86564 citations. The topic is also known as: Inventory theory.

Pricing and the News Vendor Problem: a Review with Extensions

Abstract: In the newsvendor problem, a decision maker facing random demand for a perishable product decides how much of it to stock for a single selling period. This simple problem with its intuitively appealing solution is a crucial building block of stochastic inventory theory, which comprises a vast literature focusing on operational efficiency. Typically in this literature, market parameters such as demand and selling price are exogenous. However, incorporating these factors into the mode l can provide an excellent vehicle for examining how operational problems interact with marketing issues to influence decision making at the firm level. In this paper we examine an extension of the newsvendor problem in which stocking quantity and selling price are set simultaneously. We provide a comprehensive review that synthesizes existing results for the single period problem and develop additional results to enrich the existing knowledge base. We also review and develop insight into a dynamic inventory extension of this problem, and motivate the applicability of such models.

Perishable Inventory Theory: A Review

Abstract: This paper reviews the relevant literature on the problem of determining suitable ordering policies for both fixed life perishable inventory, and inventory subject to continuous exponential decay. We consider both deterministic and stochastic demand for single and multiple products. Both optimal and sub-optimal order policies are discussed. In addition, a brief review of the application of these models to blood bank management is included. The review concludes with a discussion of some of the interesting open research questions in the area.

An integrated inventory model for a single supplier-single customer problem

Abstract: SUMMARY The method given in this paper is typically applicable to those inventory problems where a product is procured by a single customer from a single supplier. An example has been solved to illustrate the method.

Applying a New Device in the Optimization of Exponential Queuing Systems

Abstract: We consider the problem of controlling M/M/c queuing systems. By providing a new definition of the time of transition, we enlarge the standard set of decision epochs and obtain a preferred version of the n-period problem in which the times between transitions are exponential random variables with constant parameter. Using this new device, we are able to utilize the inductive approach in a manner characteristic of inventory theory. The efficacy of the approach is demonstrated by successfully finding the form of an optimal policy for three distinct models that have appeared in the literature, namely, those of i Miller and Cramer, ii Crabill and Sabeti, and iii Low of particular note is our analysis of the Miller-Cramer model, in which we show that a policy optimal for all sufficiently small discount factors can be obtained from the usual average cost functional equation without recourse to further computation.