http://hdl.handle.net/1765/17197
series: ERS-2009-053-LIS

An Inventory Model for Slow Moving Items Subject to Obsolescence


Research Paper
This publication is part of collection
Related Files
asset icon
(ERS-2009-053-LIS.pdf, 0.6MB)

In this paper, we consider a continuous review inventory system of a slow moving item for which the demand rate drops to a lower level at a pre-determined time. Inventory system is controlled according to one-for-one replenishment policy with fixed lead time. Adaptation to the lower demand rate is achieved by changing the control policy in advance and letting the demand take away the excess stocks. We show that the timing of the control policy change primarily determines the tradeoff between backordering penalties and obsolescence costs. We propose an approximate solution for the optimal time to shift to the new control policy minimizing the expected total cost during the transient period. We find that the advance policy change results in significant cost savings and the approximation yields near optimal expected total costs.



Keywords


Classifications using Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) Classification System
Automatically Extracted Terms
  • inventory
  • stock
  • demand
  • obsolescence
  • policy
  • period
  • inventory level process
  • level
  • demand rate
  • change
  • process
  • advance policy change
  • model
  • figure
  • system
  • time x
  • time t
  • phase
  • result
  • operation phase