Periodic review inventory management with contingent use of two freight modes with fixed costs

We study a stochastic inventory model of a firm that periodically orders a product from a make‐to‐order manufacturer. Orders can be shipped by a combination of two freight modes that differ in lead‐times and costs, although orders are not allowed to cross. Placing an order as well as each use of each freight mode has a fixed and a quantity proportional cost. The decision of how to allocate units between the two freight modes utilizes information about demand during the completion of manufacturing. We derive the optimal freight mode allocation policy, and show that the optimal policy for placing orders is not an (s,S) policy in general. We provide tight bounds for the optimal policy that can be calculated by solving single period problems. Our analysis enables insights into the structure of the optimal policy specifying the conditions under which it simplifies to an (s,S) policy. We characterize the best (s,S) policy for our model, and through extensive numerical investigation show that its performance is comparable with the optimal policy in most cases. Our numerical study also sheds light on the benefits of the dual freight model over the single freight models. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2011     

Analysis of decentralized multi‐product pull systems with lost sales

We study a pull‐type, flexible, multi‐product, and multi‐stage production/inventory system with decentralized two‐card kanban control policies. Each stage involves a processor and two buffers with finite target levels. Production stages, arranged in series, can process several product types one at a time. Transportation of semi‐finished parts from one stage to another is performed in fixed lot sizes. The exact analysis is mathematically intractable even for smaller systems. We present a robust approximation algorithm to model two‐card kanban systems with batch transfers under arbitrary complexity. The algorithm uses phase‐type modeling to find effective processing times and busy period analysis to identify delays among product types in resource contention. Our algorithm reduces the effort required for estimating performance measures by a considerable margin and resolves the state–space explosion problem of analytical approaches. Using this analytical tool, we present new findings for a better understanding of some tactical and operational issues. We show that flow of material in small procurement sizes smoothes flow of information within the system, but also necessitates more frequent shipments between stages, raising the risk of late delivery. Balancing the risk of information delays vis‐à‐vis shipment delays is critical for the success of two‐card kanban systems. Although product variety causes time wasted in setup operations, it also facilitates relatively short production cycles enabling processors to switch from one product type to another more rapidly. The latter point is crucial especially in high‐demand environments. Increasing production line size prevents quick response to customer demand, but it may improve system performance if the vendor lead‐time is long or subject to high variation. Finally, variability in transportation and processing times causes the most damage if it arises at stages closer to the customer. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2007     

Managing components for assemble‐to‐order products with lead‐time‐dependent pricing: The full‐shipment model

We study a component inventory planning problem in an assemble‐to‐order environment faced by many contract manufacturers in which both quick delivery and efficient management of component inventory are crucial for the manufacturers to achieve profitability in a highly competitive market. Extending a recent study in a similar problem setting by the same authors, we analyze an optimization model for determining the optimal component stocking decision for a contract manufacturer facing an uncertain future demand, where product price depends on the delivery times. In contrast to our earlier work, this paper considers the situation where the contract manufacturer needs to deliver the full order quantity in one single shipment. This delivery requirement is appropriate for many industries, such as the garment and toy industries, where the economies of scale in transportation is essential. We develop efficient solution procedures for solving this optimization problem. We use our model results to illustrate how the different model parameters affect the optimal solution. We also compare the results under this full‐shipment model with those from our earlier work that allows for multiple partial shipments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2007     

Probabilistic solution and bounds for serial inventory systems with discounted and average costs

We consider the infinite horizon serial inventory system with both average cost and discounted cost criteria. The optimal echelon base‐stock levels are obtained in terms of only probability distributions of leadtime demands. This analysis yields a novel approach for developing bounds and heuristics for optimal inventory control polices. In addition to deriving the known bounds in literature, we develop several new upper bounds for both average cost and discounted cost models. Numerical studies show that the bounds and heuristic are very close to optimal.© 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2007     

基于活跃度和任务的目标导向VANETs路由算法

针对车载自组织网络(VANETs)中节点移动速度快、节点任务分布不均、网络拓扑结构不稳定等特点,提出了一种基于节点活跃度和任务的目标导向VANETs路由算法GATRA(goal-oriented routing algorithm based on activity and task)。该算法根据当前运动节点的运动方向与目标节点的关系,以及任务饱和程度,综合考虑采用消息携带还是转发策略,以节约传输平均时延。在选择中继节点时,综合考虑邻接节点的位置、运动速度和方向等影响因素,设计节点活跃度的计算方法,作为选择中继节点的策略,从而提高了消息传输的成功率。仿真结果表明,与当前典型的VANETs路由算法相比,GATRA算法在传输成功率和平均延迟时间上具有较大提升。     

求解CVRP问题的一种改进启发式蚁群算法

针对蚁群算法求解CVRP问题时收敛速度慢、求解质量不高的缺点,提出了一种改进启发式蚁群算法。该算法借鉴蚁群系统和基于排列的蚂蚁系统的优点设计信息素更新策略,既加强了对每次迭代最好解的利用,又避免了陷入局部最优;按一定比例使用基本方法和基于PFIH方法构造路径,扩大了算法的搜索空间;采用一种混合局部搜索算子,增强了算法局部寻优能力。实验结果表明,改进启发式蚁群算法可以大幅度减少车辆运行成本,具有较快的收敛速度。     

Approximation algorithms for capacitated stochastic inventory systems with setup costs

We develop the first approximation algorithm with worst‐case performance guarantee for capacitated stochastic periodic‐review inventory systems with setup costs. The structure of the optimal control policy for such systems is extremely complicated, and indeed, only some partial characterization is available. Thus, finding provably near‐optimal control policies has been an open challenge. In this article, we construct computationally efficient approximate optimal policies for these systems whose demands can be nonstationary and/or correlated over time, and show that these policies have a worst‐case performance guarantee of 4. We demonstrate through extensive numerical studies that the policies empirically perform well, and they are significantly better than the theoretical worst‐case guarantees. We also extend the analyses and results to the case with batch ordering constraints, where the order size has to be an integer multiple of a base load. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 304–319, 2014     

The impact of operational decisions on the design of salesforce incentives

When facing high levels of overstock inventories, firms often push their salesforce to work harder than usual to attract more demand, and one way to achieve that is to offer attractive incentives. However, most research on the optimal design of salesforce incentives ignores this dependency and assumes that operational decisions of production/inventory management are separable from design of salesforce incentives. We investigate this dependency in the problem of joint salesforce incentive design and inventory/production control. We develop a dynamic Principal‐Agent model with both Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection in which the principal is strategic and risk‐neutral but the agent is myopic and risk‐averse. We find the optimal joint incentive design and inventory control strategy, and demonstrate the impact of operational decisions on the design of a compensation package. The optimal strategy is characterized by a menu of inventory‐dependent salesforce compensation contracts. We show that the optimal compensation package depends highly on the operational decisions; when inventory levels are high, (a) the firm offers a more attractive contract and (b) the contract is effective in inducing the salesforce to work harder than usual. In contrast, when inventory levels are low, the firm can offer a less attractive compensation package, but still expect the salesforce to work hard enough. In addition, we show that although the inventory/production management and the design of salesforce compensation package are highly correlated, information acquisition through contract design allows the firm to implement traditional inventory control policies: a market‐based state‐dependent policy (with a constant base‐stock level when the inventory is low) that makes use of the extracted market condition from the agent is optimal. This work appears to be the first article on operations that addresses the important interplay between inventory/production control and salesforce compensation decisions in a dynamic setting. Our findings shed light on the effective integration of these two significant aspects for the successful operation of a firm. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 320–340, 2014     

LEO卫星网络路径选择策略

路由算法在选择路径时,主要考虑传输延迟和跳数这两个因素,分别选取最短延迟路径(Least Delay Path,LDP)或最少跳数路径(Least Hops Path,LHP)。在卫星网络中,基于LHP选径策略实现更加简单,但其应用在LEO卫星网络中合理性的研究成果不多。对极轨道LEO卫星网络中,LDP和LHP之间关系进行详细地理论分析,验证了LHP选径策略的合理性。并在此基础上,提出一种基于横向传输优先级(Horizontal Transmitting Priority,HTP)的LHP最短路径选择策略,利用横向链路长短特性简化路径决策流程。通过仿真,该方法能够快速寻找到最短LHP路径,为LEO卫星网络路由算法提供一定的研究基础。     

Index policies for the routing of background jobs

Arriving (generic) jobs may be processed at one of several service stations, but only when no other (dedicated) jobs are waiting there. We consider the problem of how to route these incoming background jobs to make best use of the spare service capacity available at the stations. We develop an approximative approach to Whittle's proposal for restless bandits to obtain an index policy for routing. The indices concerned are increasing and nonlinear in the station workload. A numerical study testifies to the strong performance of the index policies developed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004