Optimal Cycle Service Level for Continuous Stocked Items with Limited Storage Capacity

This paper involves determining an optimal cycle service level for continuously stocked items that explicitly considers storage space capacity. Inventory management is under a continuous review policy. The total inventory management cost consisting of ordering cost, inventory holding cost, shortage cost, and over-capacity cost. Shortage items are assumed to be backlogged. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the method. Keywords: Continuous Review; Cycle Service Level; Storage Space Capacity; Over-Capacity Cos

Sustainability analysis in integrated inventory control and transportation systems

Due to the importance of costs as well as environmental effects of logistical activities throughout supply chains, such as inventory holding, freight transportation, and warehousing activities, this dissertation models and analyzes four integrated inventory control and transportation problems that account for economic and environmental aspects of a supply chain agents related decisions. The first model presents an integrated inventory control and transportation problem in a single item deterministic demand setting. A supply chain agents inventory control and transportation mode selection problem is solved under carbon cap, carbon cap and trade, carbon cap and offset, and carbon tax regulations. The second model focuses on an integrated inventory control and transportation problem in a single item stochastic demand setting integrating environmental objectives into a continuous review inventory control system with considerations of two different transportation modes. The third model studies an integrated inventory control and transportation problem in a multi-item deterministic demand setting, in which, a decision making method is developed considering the economic and environmental objectives. In the fourth model, a multi-item stochastic demand consolidation policy is analyzed with the consideration of heterogeneous freight trucks for transportation. It is shown that the consolidation policy suggested can result in substantial economic as well as environmental benefits for the supply chain agents --Abstract, page iii

Application of Optimization in Production, Logistics, Inventory, Supply Chain Management and Block Chain

The evolution of industrial development since the 18th century is now experiencing the fourth industrial revolution. The effect of the development has propagated into almost every sector of the industry. From inventory to the circular economy, the effectiveness of technology has been fruitful for industry. The recent trends in research, with new ideas and methodologies, are included in this book. Several new ideas and business strategies are developed in the area of the supply chain management, logistics, optimization, and forecasting for the improvement of the economy of the society and the environment. The proposed technologies and ideas are either novel or help modify several other new ideas. Different real life problems with different dimensions are discussed in the book so that readers may connect with the recent issues in society and industry. The collection of the articles provides a glimpse into the new research trends in technology, business, and the environment

Water Systems towards New Future Challenges

This book comprises components associated with smart water which aims at the exploitation and building of more sustainable and technological water networks towards the water–energy nexus and system efficiency. The implementation of modeling frameworks for measuring the performance based on a set of relevant indicators and data applications and model interfaces provides better support for decisions towards greater sustainability and more flexible and safer solutions. The hydraulic, management, and structural models represent the most effective and viable way to predict the behavior of the water networks under a wide range of conditions of demand and system failures. The knowledge of reliable parameters is crucial to develop approach models and, therefore, positive decisions in real time to be implemented in smart water systems. On the other hand, the models of operation in real-time optimization allow us to extend decisions to smart water systems in order to improve the efficiency of the water network and ensure more reliable and flexible operations, maximizing cost, environmental, and social savings associated with losses or failures. The data obtained in real time instantly update the network model towards digital water models, showing the characteristic parameters of pumps, valves, pressures, and flows, as well as hours of operation towards the lowest operating costs, in order to meet the requirement objectives for an efficient system

Development of robust building energy demand-side control strategy under uncertainty

The potential of carbon emission regulations applied to an individual building will encourage building owners to purchase utility-provided green power or to employ onsite renewable energy generation. As both cases are based on intermittent renewable energy sources, demand side control is a fundamental precondition for maximizing the effectiveness of using renewable energy sources. Such control leads to a reduction in peak demand and/or in energy demand variability, therefore, such reduction in the demand profile eventually enhances the efficiency of an erratic supply of renewable energy. The combined operation of active thermal energy storage and passive building thermal mass has shown substantial improvement in demand-side control performance when compared to current state-of-the-art demand-side control measures. Specifically, "model-based" optimal control for this operation has the potential to significantly increase performance and bring economic advantages. However, due to the uncertainty in certain operating conditions in the field its control effectiveness could be diminished and/or seriously damaged, which results in poor performance. This dissertation pursues improvements of current demand-side controls under uncertainty by proposing a robust supervisory demand-side control strategy that is designed to be immune from uncertainty and perform consistently under uncertain conditions. Uniqueness and superiority of the proposed robust demand-side controls are found as below: a. It is developed based on fundamental studies about uncertainty and a systematic approach to uncertainty analysis. b. It reduces variability of performance under varied conditions, and thus avoids the worst case scenario. c. It is reactive in cases of critical "discrepancies" observed caused by the unpredictable uncertainty that typically scenario uncertainty imposes, and thus it increases control efficiency. This is obtainable by means of i) multi-source composition of weather forecasts including both historical archive and online sources and ii) adaptive Multiple model-based controls (MMC) to mitigate detrimental impacts of varying scenario uncertainties. The proposed robust demand-side control strategy verifies its outstanding demand-side control performance in varied and non-indigenous conditions compared to the existing control strategies including deterministic optimal controls. This result reemphasizes importance of the demand-side control for a building in the global carbon economy. It also demonstrates a capability of risk management of the proposed robust demand-side controls in highly uncertain situations, which eventually attains the maximum benefit in both theoretical and practical perspectives.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Augenbroe, Gofried; Committee Member: Brown, Jason; Committee Member: Jeter, Sheldon; Committee Member: Paredis,Christiaan; Committee Member: Sastry, Chellur

Inter-firm collaboration in transportation

Dans la littérature académique et professionnelle relative au transport de marchandise, il y a longtemps que les méthodes de planification avancées ont été identifiées comme un moyen de dégager des économies grâce à une efficacité accrue des opérations de transport. Plus récemment, la collaboration interentreprises dans la planification du transport a été étudiée comme une source de gain supplémentaire en efficacité et, par conséquent, une opportunité pour dégager de nouvelles économies pour les collaborateurs. Cependant, la mise en œuvre d'une collaboration interentreprises en transports soulève un certain nombre d’enjeux. Cette thèse aborde trois thèmes centraux de la collaboration interentreprises et démontre les contributions via des études de cas dans l’industrie forestière et du meuble. Premièrement, les moyens technologiques pour soutenir une collaboration en planification du transport sont étudiés. Un système d’aide à la décision supportant la collaboration en transport forestier est présenté. Deuxièmement, le partage entre les collaborateurs du coût commun en transport est étudié. Une méthode de répartition du coût de transport tenant compte de l'impact - l’augmentation du coût de transport - des exigences inégales entre des collaborateurs est proposée. Troisièmement, la création de groupes collaboratifs - des coalitions - dans un ensemble de collaborateurs potentiel est étudiée. Un modèle réseau pour la formation d’une coalition selon les intérêts d’un sous-ensemble de collaborateurs adoptant ou pas un comportement opportuniste est détaillé. De plus, pour soutenir l'étude des thèmes précédents, la thèse comprend deux revues de la littérature. Premièrement, une revue sur les méthodes de planification et les systèmes d’aide à la décision en transport forestier est présenté. Deuxièmement, à travers la proposition d'un cadre pour créer et gérer une collaboration en transport et, plus généralement en logistique, une revue de travaux sur le transport et la logistique collaborative est offerte.In the academic and professional literature on freight transportation, computer-based planning methods have a long time ago been identified as a means to achieve cost reduction through enhanced transportation operations efficiency. More recently, inter-firm collaboration in transportation planning has been investigated as a means to provide further gains in efficiency and, in turn, to achieve additional cost reduction for the collaborators. However, implementation of inter-firm collaboration in transportation raises a number of issues. This thesis addresses three central themes in inter-firm collaboration and exemplifies the contributions in case studies involving collaboration in furniture and forest transportation. First, technological means to enable collaboration in transportation planning are studied. Embedding a computer-based planning method for truck routing, a decision support system enabling collaborative transportation is presented. Second, sharing the common transportation cost among collaborators is studied. A cost allocation method taking into account the impact – an increase of the transportation cost – of uneven requirements among collaborators is proposed. Third, building collaborating groups (i.e. coalitions) among a set of potential collaborators is studied. A network model for coalition formation by a subset of self-interested collaborators adopting or not an opportunistic behaviour is detailed. Moreover, to support the study of the aforementioned themes, the thesis includes two literature reviews. First, a survey on planning methods and decision support systems for vehicle routing problem in forest transportation is presented. Second, through the proposition of a framework for building and managing collaboration in transportation and, more generally in logistics, a survey of works on collaborative transportation and logistics is given

Forward thinking in reverse : design, implementation, and continuous monitoring of a closed-loop supply chain using optimization, simulation, and dashboard systems to maximize net recovery

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-199).Developed during our recent six-month engagement at Dell-a leading computer manufacturer and services provider with one of the world's leading supply chains--we discuss a network flow-based mixed-integer linear program (MILP) model to identify the critical factors in optimizing reverse supply chain design decisions to optimize profit. The model is fast, intuitive, flexible, and robust to uncertainty. Its outputs include specific design recommendations, financial impact estimates, dynamically generated product routing diagrams, and multi-scenario sensitivity analysis. Through two case studies, the first in U.S. smartphone returns and the second in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Alienware-branded computer returns, we show how our model fosters standardized, robust strategic decision-making and serves as a platform upon which to build management systems for continuous improvement. We then discuss two such systems: a simulation-based reusable packaging cost-benefit analysis (CBA) calculator, and an automated dashboard for managing disassembly-for-parts decisions.by Timothy J. Vasil.S.M.M.B.A