Abstract
This paper deals with a single period stochastic inventory problem with multiple products some (or all) of which can be substituted if one is out of stock. ‘Given the cross substitution probabilities of these products, the problem is to find the optimal order quantity of each item which will maximize the expected profit per period. Since the objective function representing the one period expected profit is extremely difficult to analyze in the general case of n products, we propose a heuristic rule which is based on the exact solution for the two product case whose solution is known. The effectiveness of the heuristic is compared with the results of a simulation-optimization study which can generate the optimal solution. A detailed example using exponential demand for three products illustrates the results.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Hooke, R., and Jeeves, T. A., Direct search solution of numerical and (48,39,34) statistical problems, J. Assoc. Comp. 8 (1961), 212–221.
McGillivray, A. R., and Silver, E. A., Some concepts for inventory control under substitutable demand, INFOR, 1.56% 16 (1978) 47–63.
Nicholson, T., Optimization in Iddustry, Volume 1. ( Longman Press, London, 1971 )
Parlar, M. and Goyal, S. K., Optimal ordering decisions for two substitutable products with stochastic demands, OPSEARCH, 21 (1984) 1–15.
Peterson, R. and Silber, E. A., Decision Systems for Inventory Management and Production Planning, 2nd Edition, ( Wiley, New York, 1985 )
Scientific American, Volume 251, No. 3,P. 221, September 1984.
Silver, E. A., Vidal, R. V. V. and de werra, R., A tutorial on heuristic methods, Euro, Jnl. Oper. Res., 5(1980)153–162
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1985 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Parlar, M. (1985). Optimal Ordering Decisions for Multiple Substitutable Products with Stochastic Demands. In: Bullinger, HJ., Warnecke, H.J. (eds) Toward the Factory of the Future. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-82580-4_49
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-82580-4_49
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-82582-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-82580-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive