Flow control in flexible manufacturing: Minimization of stockout cost

A flow control method is presented for a flexible manufacturing cell where the performance criterion is to minimize stockout costs in meeting time-varying demands from downstream cells. The cell operation is constrained by limited buffer space, workstation failures, and varying input rates from upstream cells. An optimization model is solved periodically to determine the required workflow rate and associated flow-control directives. Some computational results are provided and further research issues are discussed.