Installation vs. echelon stock policies for multilevel inventory control
Management Science
A multiechelon inventory model with fixed replenishment intervals
Management Science
Value of Information in Capacitated Supply Chains
Management Science
Managing Supply Chain Demand Variability with Scheduled Ordering Policies
Management Science
Quantitative Models for Supply Chain Management
Quantitative Models for Supply Chain Management
Near-Optimal Echelon-Stock (R, Nq) Policies in Multistage Serial Systems
Operations Research
A Single-Item Inventory Model for a Nonstationary Demand Process
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
Optimal Policies for Multi-Echelon Inventory Problems with Batch Ordering
Operations Research
Managing a Retailer's Shelf Space, Inventory, and Transportation
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
Information Flows in Capacitated Supply Chains with Fixed Ordering Costs
Management Science
The Value of Information Sharing in a Two-Level Supply Chain
Management Science
Supply Chain Inventory Management and the Value of Shared Information
Management Science
Properties of the Periodic Review (R, T) Inventory Control Policy for Stationary, Stochastic Demand
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
Probability in the Engineering and Informational Sciences
Coordinated Replenishment Strategies in Inventory/Distribution Systems
Management Science
Data Set---Real-World Multiechelon Supply Chains Used for Inventory Optimization
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
Optimal Control of Serial Inventory Systems with Fixed Replenishment Intervals
Operations Research
Serial Supply Chains with Economies of Scale: Bounds and Approximations
Operations Research
Note: A Simple Heuristic for Serial Inventory Systems with Fixed Order Costs
Operations Research
Echelon-stock (R,nT) control in two-stage serial stochastic inventory systems
Operations Research Letters
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In some supply chains, materials are ordered periodically according to local information. This paper investigates how to improve the performance of such a supply chain. Specifically, we consider a serial inventory system in which each stage implements a local reorder interval policy; i.e., each stage orders up to a local base-stock level according to a fixed-interval schedule. A fixed cost is incurred for placing an order. Two improvement strategies are considered: (1) expanding the information flow by acquiring real-time demand information and (2) accelerating the material flow via flexible deliveries. The first strategy leads to a reorder interval policy with full information; the second strategy leads to a reorder point policy with local information. Both policies have been studied in the literature. Thus, to assess the benefit of these strategies, we analyze the local reorder interval policy. We develop a bottom-up recursion to evaluate the system cost and provide a method to obtain the optimal policy. A numerical study shows the following: Increasing the flexibility of deliveries lowers costs more than does expanding information flow; the fixed order costs and the system lead times are key drivers that determine the effectiveness of these improvement strategies. In addition, we find that using optimal batch sizes in the reorder point policy and demand rate to infer reorder intervals may lead to significant cost inefficiency.