Using RFID to Overcome Inventory Control Challenges: A Proof of Concept

Using a Proof of Concept approach, this paper examines RFID’s impact on inventory control of a small-to-medium retailer. Results indicate that RFID technology can function effectively in a small-to-medium hardware environment. Also, the majority of the simulations recorded reasonable read rates even though the simulations were set up over a short period of time without a great deal of fine-tuning. Moreover, RFID could have a positive impact on the inventory-related processes of the organisation by either streamlining or formalizing them and facilitate the electronic storage of information captured in real-time, relating to the movement of stock and the amount of stock held, providing visibility to members of the organisation. Despite these encouraging findings in relation to using RFID for inventory control purposes within the small-to-medium retailer, it is recommended that other alternatives aimed at improving the inventory control practices of the organisation be investigated before committing to the implementation of RFID

Joint pricing and ordering policies for deteriorating item with retail price-dependent demand in response to announced supply price increase

[[abstract]]Recently, due to rapid economic development in emerging nations, the world's raw material prices have been rising. In today's unrestricted information environment, suppliers typically announce impending supply price increases at specific times. This allows retailers to replenish their stock at the present price, before the price increase takes effect. The supplier, however, will generally offer only limited quantities prior to the price increase, so as to avoid excessive orders. The retail price will usually reflect any supply price increases, as market demand is dependent on retail price. This paper considers deteriorating items and investigates (1) the possible effects of a supply price increase on retail pricing, and (2) ordering policies under the conditions that special order quantities are limited and demand is dependent on retail price. The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal special order quantity and retail price to maximize profit. Our theoretical analysis examines the necessary and sufficient conditions for an optimal solution, and an algorithm is established to obtain the optimal solution. Furthermore, several numerical examples are given to illustrate the developed model and the solution procedure. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted on the optimal solutions with respect to major parameters.[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙

A single-vendor and a single-buyer integrated inventory model with ordering cost reduction dependent on lead time

Lead time is one of the major limits that affect planning at every stage of the supply chain system. In this paper, we study a continuous review inventory model. This paper investigates the ordering cost reductions are dependent on lead time. This study addressed two-echelon supply chain problem consisting of a single vendor and a single buyer. The main contribution of this study is that the integrated total cost of the single vendor and the single buyer integrated system is analyzed by adopting two different (linear and logarithmic) types ordering cost reductions act dependent on lead time. In both cases, we develop effective solution procedures for finding the optimal solution and then illustrative numerical examples are given to illustrate the results. The solution procedure is to determine the optimal solutions of order quantity, ordering cost, lead time and the number of deliveries from the single vendor and the single buyer in one production run, so that the integrated total cost incurred has the minimum value. Ordering cost reduction is the main aspect of the proposed model. A numerical example is given to validate the model. Numerical example solved by using Matlab software. The mathematical model is solved analytically by minimizing the integrated total cost. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis is included and the numerical examples are given to illustrate the results. The results obtained in this paper are illustrated with the help of numerical examples. The sensitivity of the proposed model has been checked with respect to the various major parameters of the system. Results reveal that the proposed integrated inventory model is more applicable for the supply chain manufacturing system. For each case, an algorithm procedure of finding the optimal solution is developed. Finally, the graphical representation is presented to illustrate the proposed model and also include the computer flowchart in each model