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An index heuristic for transshipment decisions in multi-location inventory systems based on a pairwise decomposition

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  • Archibald, T.W.
  • Black, D.
  • Glazebrook, K.D.

Abstract

In multi-location inventory systems, transshipments are often used to improve customer service and reduce cost. Determining optimal transshipment policies for such systems involves a complex optimisation problem that is only tractable for systems with few locations. Consequently simple heuristic transshipment policies are often applied in practice. This paper develops an approximate solution method which applies decomposition to reduce a Markov decision process model of a multi-location inventory system into a number of models involving only two locations. The value functions from the subproblems are used to estimate the fair charge for the inventory provided in a transshipment. This estimate of the fair charge is used as the decision criterion in a heuristic transshipment policy for the multi-location system. A numerical study shows that the proposed heuristic can deliver considerable cost savings compared to the simple heuristics often used in practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Archibald, T.W. & Black, D. & Glazebrook, K.D., 2009. "An index heuristic for transshipment decisions in multi-location inventory systems based on a pairwise decomposition," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 192(1), pages 69-78, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:192:y:2009:i:1:p:69-78
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    Cited by:

    1. Tiacci, Lorenzo & Saetta, Stefano, 2011. "Reducing the mean supply delay of spare parts using lateral transshipments policies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 182-191, September.
    2. 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.
    3. Meissner, Joern & Senicheva, Olga V., 2018. "Approximate dynamic programming for lateral transshipment problems in multi-location inventory systems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 265(1), pages 49-64.
    4. Elleuch Fadoi & Semi Boudabbous, 2021. "Application of Transshipment in the Supply Chain Management in Tunisia," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 11(4), pages 81-103.
    5. Fadoi Elleuch, 2023. "The "Lateral Transshipment" Is a Cooperative Tool for Optimizing the Profitability of a Distribution System," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 13(1), pages 128-151.
    6. Zhang, Peng & Xu, Xiaofeng & Shi, Victor & Zhu, Jing, 2020. "Simultaneous inventory competition and transshipment between retailers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    7. Naderi, Siamak & Kilic, Kemal & Dasci, Abdullah, 2020. "A deterministic model for the transshipment problem of a fast fashion retailer under capacity constraints," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    8. Feng, Pingping & Wu, Feng & Fung, Richard Y.K. & Jia, Tao, 2018. "Evaluation of two transshipment policies in a two-location decentralized inventory system under partial backordering," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 207-224.
    9. T W Archibald & D P Black & K D Glazebrook, 2010. "The use of simple calibrations of individual locations in making transshipment decisions in a multi-location inventory network," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 61(2), pages 294-305, February.
    10. He, Yong & Zhang, Peng & Yao, Yuliang, 2014. "Unidirectional transshipment policies in a dual-channel supply chain," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 259-268.
    11. Paterson, Colin & Teunter, Ruud & Glazebrook, Kevin, 2012. "Enhanced lateral transshipments in a multi-location inventory system," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 221(2), pages 317-327.
    12. Jason Acimovic & Stephen C. Graves, 2015. "Making Better Fulfillment Decisions on the Fly in an Online Retail Environment," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 17(1), pages 34-51, February.
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