IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/orspec/v39y2017i3d10.1007_s00291-017-0473-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Integrated planning of spare parts and service engineers with partial backlogging

Author

Listed:
  • S. Rahimi-Ghahroodi

    (University of Twente)

  • A. Al Hanbali

    (University of Twente)

  • W. H. M. Zijm

    (University of Twente)

  • J. K. W. Ommeren

    (University of Twente)

  • A. Sleptchenko

    (College of Engineering, Qatar University)

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the integrated planning of resources in a service maintenance logistics system in which spare parts supply and service engineers deployment are considered simultaneously. The objective is to determine close-to-optimal stock levels as well as the number of service engineers that minimize the total average costs under a maximum total average waiting time constraint. When a failure occurs, a spare part and a service engineer are requested for the repair call. In case of a stock-out at spare parts inventory, the repair call will be satisfied entirely via an emergency channel with a fast replenishment time but at a high cost. However, if the requested spare part is in stock, the backlogging policy is followed for engineers. We model the problem as a queueing network. An exact method and two approximations for the evaluation of a given policy are presented. We exploit evaluation methods in a greedy heuristic procedure to optimize this integrated planning. In a numerical study, we show that for problems with more than five types of spare parts it is preferable to use approximate evaluations as they become significantly faster than exact evaluation. Moreover, approximation errors decrease as problems get larger. Furthermore, we test how the greedy optimization heuristic performs compared to other discrete search algorithms in terms of total costs and computation times. Finally, in a rather large case study, we show that we may incur up to 27% cost savings when using the integrated planning as compared to a separated optimization.

Suggested Citation

  • S. Rahimi-Ghahroodi & A. Al Hanbali & W. H. M. Zijm & J. K. W. Ommeren & A. Sleptchenko, 2017. "Integrated planning of spare parts and service engineers with partial backlogging," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 39(3), pages 711-748, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:orspec:v:39:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s00291-017-0473-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s00291-017-0473-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00291-017-0473-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00291-017-0473-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zeynep Avsar & W. Zijm & Umut Rodoplu, 2009. "An approximate model for base-stock-controlled assembly systems," IISE Transactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(3), pages 260-274.
    2. Saligrama R. Agnihothri & Uday S. Karmarkar, 1992. "Performance Evaluation of Service Territories," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 40(2), pages 355-366, April.
    3. Craig C. Sherbrooke, 1968. "Metric: A Multi-Echelon Technique for Recoverable Item Control," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 16(1), pages 122-141, February.
    4. Anil Kukreja & Charles P. Schmidt & David M. Miller, 2001. "Stocking Decisions for Low-Usage Items in a Multilocation Inventory System," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(10), pages 1371-1383, October.
    5. van Wijk, A.C.C. & Adan, I.J.B.F. & van Houtum, G.J., 2012. "Approximate evaluation of multi-location inventory models with lateral transshipments and hold back levels," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 218(3), pages 624-635.
    6. H Wong & G J van Houtum & D Cattrysse & D Van Oudheusden, 2005. "Simple, efficient heuristics for multi-item multi-location spare parts systems with lateral transshipments and waiting time constraints," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 56(12), pages 1419-1430, December.
    7. Geert-Jan van Houtum & Bram Kranenburg, 2015. "Spare Parts Inventory Control under System Availability Constraints," International Series in Operations Research and Management Science, Springer, edition 127, number 978-1-4899-7609-3, September.
    8. Jing-Sheng Song & Susan H. Xu & Bin Liu, 1999. "Order-Fulfillment Performance Measures in an Assemble-to-Order System with Stochastic Leadtimes," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 131-149, February.
    9. Aksin, O. Zeynep & Harker, Patrick T., 2003. "Capacity sizing in the presence of a common shared resource: Dimensioning an inbound call center," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(3), pages 464-483, June.
    10. Waller, AAW, 1994. "A queueing network model for field service support systems," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 35-40, January.
    11. Yingdong Lu & Jing-Sheng Song & David D. Yao, 2003. "Order Fill Rate, Leadtime Variability, and Advance Demand Information in an Assemble-to-Order System," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 51(2), pages 292-308, April.
    12. Kranenburg, A.A. & van Houtum, G.J., 2009. "A new partial pooling structure for spare parts networks," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 199(3), pages 908-921, December.
    13. Hoen, K.M.R. & Güllü, R. & van Houtum, G.J. & Vliegen, I.M.H., 2011. "A simple and accurate approximation for the order fill rates in lost-sales Assemble-to-Order systems," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 95-104, September.
    14. Papadopoulos, H. T., 1996. "A field service support system using a queueing network model and the priority MVA algorithm," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 195-203, April.
    15. S R Agnihothri & A K Mishra & D E Simmons, 2003. "Workforce cross-training decisions in field service systems with two job types," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 54(4), pages 410-418, April.
    16. Patrik Alfredsson & Jos Verrijdt, 1999. "Modeling Emergency Supply Flexibility in a Two-Echelon Inventory System," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(10), pages 1416-1431, October.
    17. Saif Benjaafar & Mohsen ElHafsi, 2006. "Production and Inventory Control of a Single Product Assemble-to-Order System with Multiple Customer Classes," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(12), pages 1896-1912, December.
    18. Savas Dayanik & Jing-Sheng Song & Susan H. Xu, 2003. "The Effectiveness of Several Performance Bounds for Capacitated Production, Partial-Order-Service, Assemble-to-Order Systems," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 5(3), pages 230-251, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rahimi-Ghahroodi, S. & Al Hanbali, A. & Vliegen, I.M.H. & Cohen, M.A., 2019. "Joint optimization of spare parts inventory and service engineers staffing with full backlogging," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 39-50.
    2. Rahimi-Ghahroodi, S. & Al Hanbali, A. & Zijm, W.H.M. & Timmer, J.B., 2020. "Multi-resource emergency supply contracts with asymmetric information in the after-sales services," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    3. Rahimi-Ghahroodi, S. & Al Hanbali, A. & Zijm, W.H.M. & Timmer, J.B., 2019. "Emergency supply contracts for a service provider with limited local resources," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 445-460.
    4. Sleptchenko, Andrei & Al Hanbali, Ahmad & Zijm, Henk, 2018. "Joint planning of service engineers and spare parts," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 271(1), pages 97-108.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rahimi-Ghahroodi, S. & Al Hanbali, A. & Vliegen, I.M.H. & Cohen, M.A., 2019. "Joint optimization of spare parts inventory and service engineers staffing with full backlogging," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 39-50.
    2. van Wingerden, E. & Tan, T. & Van Houtum, G.J., 2019. "The impact of an emergency warehouse in a two-echelon spare parts network," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 276(3), pages 983-997.
    3. de Kok, Ton & Grob, Christopher & Laumanns, Marco & Minner, Stefan & Rambau, Jörg & Schade, Konrad, 2018. "A typology and literature review on stochastic multi-echelon inventory models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 269(3), pages 955-983.
    4. Sleptchenko, Andrei & Al Hanbali, Ahmad & Zijm, Henk, 2018. "Joint planning of service engineers and spare parts," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 271(1), pages 97-108.
    5. Paterson, Colin & Kiesmüller, Gudrun & Teunter, Ruud & Glazebrook, Kevin, 2011. "Inventory models with lateral transshipments: A review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 210(2), pages 125-136, April.
    6. Fritzsche, R., 2012. "Cost adjustment for single item pooling models using a dynamic failure rate: A calculation for the aircraft industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(6), pages 1065-1079.
    7. Selçuk, B., 2013. "An adaptive base stock policy for repairable item inventory control," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 304-315.
    8. van Wijk, A.C.C. & Adan, I.J.B.F. & van Houtum, G.J., 2019. "Optimal lateral transshipment policies for a two location inventory problem with multiple demand classes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 272(2), pages 481-495.
    9. Erhun Özkan & Geert-Jan Houtum & Yasemin Serin, 2015. "A new approximate evaluation method for two-echelon inventory systems with emergency shipments," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 224(1), pages 147-169, January.
    10. Ana Bušić & Ingrid Vliegen & Alan Scheller-Wolf, 2012. "Comparing Markov Chains: Aggregation and Precedence Relations Applied to Sets of States, with Applications to Assemble-to-Order Systems," Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 37(2), pages 259-287, May.
    11. Tiemessen, H.G.H. & Fleischmann, M. & van Houtum, G.J. & van Nunen, J.A.E.E. & Pratsini, E., 2013. "Dynamic demand fulfillment in spare parts networks with multiple customer classes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 228(2), pages 367-380.
    12. Atan, Zümbül & Ahmadi, Taher & Stegehuis, Clara & Kok, Ton de & Adan, Ivo, 2017. "Assemble-to-order systems: A review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 261(3), pages 866-879.
    13. Johansson, Lina & Olsson, Fredrik, 2018. "Age-based inventory control in a multi-echelon system with emergency replenishments," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 265(3), pages 951-961.
    14. Van der Heide, G. & Van Foreest, N.D. & Roodbergen, K.J., 2018. "Optimizing stock levels for rental systems with a support warehouse and partial backordering," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 265(1), pages 107-118.
    15. Hoen, K.M.R. & Güllü, R. & van Houtum, G.J. & Vliegen, I.M.H., 2011. "A simple and accurate approximation for the order fill rates in lost-sales Assemble-to-Order systems," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 95-104, September.
    16. Vliegen, I.M.H. & van Houtum, G.J., 2009. "Approximate evaluation of order fill rates for an inventory system of service tools," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 339-351, March.
    17. Alvarez, E.M. & van der Heijden, M.C. & Vliegen, I.M.H. & Zijm, W.H.M., 2014. "Service differentiation through selective lateral transshipments," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 237(3), pages 824-835.
    18. van Wijk, A.C.C. & Adan, I.J.B.F. & van Houtum, G.J., 2012. "Approximate evaluation of multi-location inventory models with lateral transshipments and hold back levels," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 218(3), pages 624-635.
    19. Kai Huang, 2014. "Benchmarking non-first-come-first-served component allocation in an assemble-to-order system," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 223(1), pages 217-237, December.
    20. van Jaarsveld, W.L. & Dollevoet, T.A.B., 2011. "Spare parts inventory control for an aircraft component repair shop," Econometric Institute Research Papers EI2011-24, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), Econometric Institute.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:orspec:v:39:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s00291-017-0473-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.