Capacity expansion under a service‐level constraint for uncertain demand with lead times

For a service provider facing stochastic demand growth, expansion lead times and economies of scale complicate the expansion timing and sizing decisions. We formulate a model to minimize the infinite horizon expected discounted expansion cost under a service‐level constraint. The service level is defined as the proportion of demand over an expansion cycle that is satisfied by available capacity. For demand that follows a geometric Brownian motion process, we impose a stationary policy under which expansions are triggered by a fixed ratio of demand to the capacity position, i.e., the capacity that will be available when any current expansion project is completed, and each expansion increases capacity by the same proportion. The risk of capacity shortage during a cycle is estimated analytically using the value of an up‐and‐out partial barrier call option. A cutting plane procedure identifies the optimal values of the two expansion policy parameters simultaneously. Numerical instances illustrate that if demand grows slowly with low volatility and the expansion lead times are short, then it is optimal to delay the start of expansion beyond when demand exceeds the capacity position. Delays in initiating expansions are coupled with larger expansion sizes. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2009     

Optimal inventory and dynamic admission policies for a retailer of seasonal products with affiliate programs and drop‐shipping

This article investigates the optimal inventory and admission policies for a “Clicks‐and‐Bricks” retailer of seasonal products that, in addition to selling through its own physical and online stores, also sells through third‐party websites by means of affiliate programs. Through postings on partners' webpages, an affiliate program allows a retailer to attract customers who would otherwise be missed. However, this retailer needs to pay a commission for each sale that originates from the website operators participating in the program. The retailer may also refer online orders to other sources (such as distributors and manufacturers) for fulfillment through a drop‐shipping agreement and thus earns commissions. This would be an option when, for example, the inventories at the physical stores were running low. Therefore, during the selling horizon, the retailer needs to dynamically control the opening/closing of affiliate programs and decide on the fulfillment option for online orders. On the basis of a discrete‐time dynamic programming model, the optimal admission policy of the retailer is investigated in this paper, and the structural properties of the revenue function are characterized. Numerical examples are given to show the revenue impact of optimal admission control. The optimal initial stocking decisions at the physical stores are also studied. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 2009     

On online bin packing with LIB constraints

In many applications of packing, the location of small items below large items, inside the packed boxes, is forbidden. We consider a variant of the classic online one‐dimensional bin packing, in which items allocated to each bin are packed there in the order of arrival, satisfying the condition above. This variant is called online bin packing problem with LIB (larger item in the bottom) constraints. We give an improved analysis of First Fit showing that its competitive ratio is at most , and design a lower bound of 2 on the competitive ratio of any online algorithm. In addition, we study the competitive ratio of First Fit as a function of an upper bound (where d is a positive integer) on the item sizes. Our upper bound on the competitive ratio of First Fit tends to 2 as d grows, whereas the lower bound of two holds for any value of d. Finally, we consider several natural and well known algorithms, namely, Best Fit, Worst Fit, Almost Worst Fit, and Harmonic, and show that none of them has a finite competitive ratio for the problem. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2009     

MEMS惯性测量组合在无人机飞行参数测量中的应用

介绍了在无人机飞行试验中应用MEMS微惯性测量组合来解算飞行姿态、速度位置等参数的某个实例.试验结果表明,由此系统所得到的数据及曲线能够很好地描述实际飞行过程.试验数据为进一步地相关分析提供了有利的依据.     

基于指数平滑法的装备维修器材需求量预测

准确地预测维修器材需求量是制定装备保障计划的重要依据.针对装备维修器材需求量预测相对不够准确的问题,通过对两种预测方法进行比较,引入了适用于准确预测的指数平滑方法,建立了基于指数平滑法的装备维修器材需求量预测模型,介绍了确定初始值的方法,并以某种维修器材需求量预测为例进行了分析,为准确预测装备维修器材需求量提供了一种较为科学合理的方法.     

基于灰色理论的直流接触器行为预测

针对大型复杂装备使用了大量的直流接触器,并且接触器接触电阻值随外间因素变化大等特点,利用灰色理论的新陈代谢GM(1,1)预测模型,对直流接触器的接触电阻进行了预测评估。从而,可以进一步判断直流接触器的接触行为。实际模拟证明,新陈代谢GM(1,1)预测模型能够明显地提高预测精度,增加预测可靠程度,从而实现直流接触器接触行为的早期预测评估。     

油料消耗神经网络组合预测模型

油料消耗单一预测模型精度不高,难以适应信息化条件下精确保障需要。以单一的神经网络预测模型、时间序列预测模型和灰色预测模型为组合预测的基础,利用神经网络求取3种预测模型的组合预测权重系数,将这3种单一预测模型的预测结果作为神经网络组合预测模型的输入,求得一个新的预测结果。平均相对误差和均方差比表明,神经网络组合预测模型比单一预测模型更为优越。     

Dynamic routing of prioritized warranty repairs

Recent years have seen a strong trend toward outsourcing warranty repair services to outside vendors. In this article we consider the problem of dynamically routing warranty repairs to service vendors when warranties have priority levels. Each time an item under warranty fails, it is sent to one of the vendors for repair. Items covered by higher priority warranty receive higher priority in repair service. The manufacturer pays a fixed fee per repair and incurs a linear holding cost while an item is undergoing or waiting for repair. The objective is to minimize the manufacturer's long‐run average cost. Because of the complexity of the problem, it is very unlikely that there exist tractable ways to find the optimal routing strategies. Therefore, we propose five heuristic routing procedures that are applicable to real‐life problems. We evaluate the heuristics using simulation. The simulation results show that the index‐based “generalized join the shortest queue” policy, which applies a single policy improvement step to an initial state‐independent policy, performs the best among all five heuristics. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008     

Technical note: An improved range chart for normal and long‐tailed symmetrical distributions

The distribution of the range of a sample, even in the case of a normal distribution, is not symmetric. Shewhart's control chart for range and other approximations for range from skewed distributions and long‐tailed (leptokurtic) symmetrical distributions assume the distribution of range as symmetric and provide 3 sigma control limits. We provide accurate approximations for the R‐chart control limits for the leptokurtic symmetrical distributions, using a range quantile approximation (RQA) method and illustrate the use of the RQA method with a numerical example. As special cases, we provide constants for the R‐chart for the normal, logistic, and Laplace distributions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008     

Technical note: Reexamination of all‐or‐none inspection policies in a supply chain with endogenous product quality

This note studies the optimal inspection policies in a supply chain in which a manufacturer purchases components from a supplier but has no direct control of component quality. The manufacturer uses an inspection policy and a damage cost sharing contract to encourage the supplier to improve the component quality. We find that all‐or‐none inspection policies are optimal for the manufacturer if the supplier's share of the damage cost is larger than a threshold; otherwise, the manufacturer should inspect a fraction of a batch. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008