Article ID: | iaor20003360 |
Country: | Netherlands |
Volume: | 119 |
Issue: | 3 |
Start Page Number: | 582 |
End Page Number: | 604 |
Publication Date: | Dec 1999 |
Journal: | European Journal of Operational Research |
Authors: | Sethi Suresh P., Yan Houmin, Yang Jun |
The paper is concerned with the problem of optimal production planning in deterministic pull flow lines with multiple products. The objective is to specify the production policy that minimizes the total inventory and backlog costs over time. Assuming constant product demands and non-decreasing unit holding costs along the flow, an algorithm which obtains the optimal production policy is developed. This algorithm works for the discounted-cost function as well. The Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation is used to verify the optimality of the policy, and the computational complexity of the algorithm is discussed. Some illustrative examples are also included.