Optimal Acquisition Quantities in Remanufacturing with Condition Uncertainty

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Galbreth, Michael R.; Blackburn, Joseph D.
• 署名单位: University of South Carolina System; University of South Carolina Columbia; Vanderbilt University
• 刊物名称: PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1059-1478
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1937-5956.2009.01067.x
• 发表日期: 2010
• 页码: 61-69
• 关键词: remanufacturing; used product acquisition; lot sizing; order statistics

摘要

The condition of the used products acquired by remanufacturing firms often varies widely. A firm can manage this variation by acquiring a quantity of used items that exceeds demand, enabling it to remanufacture a subset of the acquired items in the best condition. As more excess items are acquired, the firm can increase its selectivity and lower its remanufacturing costs. In this paper, we examine the tradeoff of acquisition and scrapping costs vs. remanufacturing costs when used product condition is widely varying and uncertain. We derive acquisition quantities that minimize total expected costs for several representations of condition variability and remanufacturing cost structures. We find that, when costs are linear, the optimal acquisition quantity has a closed form and increases with the square root of the degree of condition variability. Our models are based on experience with remanufacturers of cell phones and imaging supplies, and application of our results is illustrated using example data from industry.