Optimal joint inventory and transshipment control under uncertain capacity
成果类型：
Article
署名作者：
Hu, Xinxin; Duenyas, Izak; Kapuscinski, Roman
署名单位：
Indiana University System; Indiana University Bloomington; IU Kelley School of Business; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan
刊物名称：
OPERATIONS RESEARCH
ISSN/ISSBN：
0030-364X
DOI：
10.1287/opre.1080.0515
发表日期：
2008
页码：
881-897
关键词：
摘要：
In this paper, we address the optimal joint control of inventory and transshipment for a firm that produces in two locations and faces capacity uncertainty. Capacity uncertainty (e. g., due to downtime, quality problems, yield, etc.) is a common feature of many production systems, but its effects have not been explored in the context of a firm that has multiple production facilities. We first characterize the optimal production and transshipment policies and show that uncertain capacity leads the firm to ration the inventory that is available for transshipment to the other location and characterize the structure of this rationing policy. Then, we characterize the optimal production policies at both locations, which are defined by state-dependent produce-up-to thresholds. We also describe sensitivity of the optimal production and transshipment policies to problem parameters and, in particular, explain how uncertain capacity can lead to counterintuitive behavior, such as produce-up-to limits decreasing for locations that face stochastically higher demand. We finally explore, through a numerical study, when the optimal policy is most likely to yield significant benefits compared to simple policies.