Effectiveness of an exponentially smoothed ordering policy as compared with Kanban system

The Kanban system in Just-In-Time (JIT) production is very effective in reducing the inventories when consumption rate of the final product is relatively stable. When large fluctuations exist in the consumption rate, a new production ordering policy in which the production order quantity is determined by smoothing the demands exponentially is more suitable. This new ordering policy has not been investigated sufficiently. In this research, a multi-stage production and inventory system with stock points for materials and finished items located at each stage is considered. Approximations of average inventories at each stage in the system are derived theoretically. Numerical simulations are carried out to assess the accuracy of approximations and to evaluate the effectiveness of the new ordering policy as compared with the Kanban system. As a result, it is shown that the new ordering policy can achieve significantly lower inventory costs than the original Kanban system. The new ordering policy thus emerges as a key concept for an effective supply chain management.