Article ID: | iaor20141963 |
Volume: | 67 |
Issue: | 11 |
Start Page Number: | 141 |
End Page Number: | 161 |
Publication Date: | Jul 2014 |
Journal: | Transportation Research Part E |
Authors: | Farahani Reza Zanjirani, Zolfagharinia Hossein, Hafezi Maryam, Fahimnia Behnam |
Keywords: | networks, health services, economics, social, geography & environment |
This paper develops an inventory control model for a reverse supply chain with separate serviceable and remanufacturable inventory stock points. Return rate is expressed stochastically as a function of product demand. Variation in demand distribution during product life‐cycle is modeled using a new order‐up‐to replenishment policy incorporating five maximum inventory levels corresponding to five product life cycle stages. A near optimum solution to this problem is sought using a hybrid solution method integrating a discrete event simulation with a meta‐heuristic search method. Real data from an Australian case company is utilized to design test experiments for model validation and evaluation.