Performance Analysis of a Multi-Item Production-Inventory System Under Alternative Policies

This paper explores the performance of a multi-item production-inventory system. We compare two alternative policies, representing different modes of collecting and utilizing information. We derive a closed-form measure of performance for one of them, the familiar first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy, and propose a comparable approximation for the other, the longest-queue (LQ) policy. These results are illustrated and tested through simulations. In this way we address several basic managerial issues: What is the value of centralized information in complex systems? How does the breadth of the product line affect performance?

• 저널Management Science · 41(4) · 690–703
• 토픽Supply Chain and Inventory Management · Management Information Systems
• DOI10.1287/mnsc.41.4.690
• 저자Paul Zipkin