9,906 research outputs found
Cooperation in stochastic inventory models with continuous review
Consider multiple companies that continuously review their inventories and face Poisson demand. We study cooperation strategies for these companies and analyse if there exist allocations of the joint cost such that any company has lower costs than on its own; such allocations are called stable cost allocations. We start with two companies that jointly place an order for replenishment if their joint inventory position reaches a certain reorder level. This strategy leads to a simple expression of the joint costs. However, these costs exceed the costs for non-cooperating companies. Therefore, we examine another cooperation strategy. Namely, the companies reorder as soon as one of them reaches its reorder level. This latter strategy has lower costs than for non-cooperating companies. Numerical experiments show that the gametheoretical distribution rule â a cost allocation in which the companies share the procurement cost and each pays its own holding cost â is a stable cost allocation. These results also hold for situations with multiple companies
Robust Dynamic Cooperative Games
Classical cooperative game theory is no longer a suitable tool for those situations where
the values of coalitions are not known with certainty. Recent works address situations
where the values of coalitions are modelled by random variables. In this work we still
consider the values of coalitions as uncertain, but model them as unknown but bounded
disturbances. We do not focus on solving a specific game, but rather consider a family of
games described by a polyhedron: each point in the polyhedron is a vector of coalitionsâ
values and corresponds to a specific game. We consider a dynamic context where while
we know with certainty the average value of each coalition on the long run, at each time
such a value is unknown and fluctuates within the bounded polyhedron. Then, it makes
sense to define ârobustâ allocation rules, i.e., allocation rules that bound, within a pre-
defined threshold, a so-called complaint vector while guaranteeing a certain average (over
time) allocation vector. We also present as motivating example a joint replenishment
application
Supply chain collaboration
In the past, research in operations management focused on single-firm analysis. Its goal was to provide managers in practice with suitable tools to improve the performance of their firm by calculating optimal inventory quantities, among others. Nowadays, business decisions are dominated by the globalization of markets and increased competition among firms. Further, more and more products reach the customer through supply chains that are composed of independent firms. Following these trends, research in operations management has shifted its focus from single-firm analysis to multi-firm analysis, in particular to improving the efficiency and performance of supply chains under decentralized control. The main characteristics of such chains are that the firms in the chain are independent actors who try to optimize their individual objectives, and that the decisions taken by a firm do also affect the performance of the other parties in the supply chain. These interactions among firmsâ decisions ask for alignment and coordination of actions. Therefore, game theory, the study of situations of cooperation or conflict among heterogenous actors, is very well suited to deal with these interactions. This has been recognized by researchers in the field, since there are an ever increasing number of papers that applies tools, methods and models from game theory to supply chain problems
A joint replenishment competitive location problem
Competitive Location Models seek the positions which maximize the market captured by an entrant firm from previously positioned competitors. Nevertheless, strategic location decisions may have a significant impact on inventory and shipment costs in the future affecting the firmâs competitive advantages. In this work we describe a model for the joint replenishment competitive location problem which considers both market capture and replenishment costs in order to choose the firmâs locations. We also present an metaherusitic method to solve it based on the Viswanathanâs (1996) algorithm to solve the Replenishment Problem and an Iterative Local Search Procedure to solve the Location Problem.N/
On two-echelon inventory systems with Poisson demand and lost sales
We derive approximations for the service levels of two-echelon inventory systems with lost sales and Poisson demand. Our method is simple and accurate for a very broad range of problem instances, including cases with both high and low service levels. In contrast, existing methods only perform well for limited problem settings, or under restrictive assumptions.\u
Coordinated replenishment systems with discount opportunities
Inventory Control;Inventory Models;inkoop
Controlling inventories in a supply chain: a case study
This article studies specific aspects of the joint replenishment problem in a real supply chain setting. Particularly we analyze the effect on inventory performance of having minimum order quantities for the different products in the joint order, given a complex transportation cost structure. The policies suggested have been tested in a simulation model with real data.Inventory;Supply chain management;Minimum order quantities;Joint replienishment
Collaborative replenishment in the presence of intermediaries
In complex supply chains, downstream buyers would often replenish individually from intermediaries instead of directly dealing with original manufacturers. Although collaborative replenishment from intermediaries might generate benefits, significant cost reductions could be achieved when direct replenishments from manufacturers are considered. This paper constructs a general model to study collaborative replenishment in multi-product chains with alternative sources of supplyâi.e., manufacturers and intermediaries. A collaborative organization determines the optimal choices of replenishment sources on behalf of its members to minimize collective costs. We introduce a class of cooperative games associated with these situations and give sufficient conditions for their concavity. We investigate the choice of allocation rule and its effect on supply chain efficiency when buyers strategically participate in the collaborative organization. We prove that the Shapley value coordinates the supply chain, i.e., it makes complete participation the best strategy for buyers even under asymmetric information. This setting is compared with an alternative structure where buyers can only collaborate in source-specific replenishment organizations that purchase all requested products either from intermediaries or manufacturers. Although there are always participation strategies that result in minimum collective cost, it is impossible to find allocation rules for source-specific replenishment organizations that always motivate the buyers to choose such strategies.</p
- âŠ