Inventory reduction in spare part networks by selective throughput time reduction

M.C. van der Heijden, E.M. Alvarez and J.M.J. Schutten

International Journal of Production Economics, 2013, vol. 143, issue 2, 509-517

Abstract: We consider combined inventory control and throughput time reduction in multi-echelon, multi-indenture spare part networks for system upkeep of capital goods. We construct a model in which standard throughput times (TPTs) for repair and transportation can be reduced at additional costs. We first estimate the marginal impact of TPT reduction on the system availability. Next, we develop an optimization heuristic for the cost trade-off between TPT reduction and spare part inventories. In a case study at Thales Netherlands with limited options for TPT reduction, we find a net saving of 5.6% on spare part inventories. In an extensive numerical experiment, we find a 20% cost reduction on average compared to standard spare part inventory optimization. TPT reductions downstream in the spare part supply chain appear to be the most effective.

Keywords: Inventory; Spare parts; Repair time; Maintenance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527312001168
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:proeco:v:143:y:2013:i:2:p:509-517

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2012.03.020

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Production Economics is currently edited by Stefan Minner

More articles in International Journal of Production Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().