Performance Analysis of a Multi-Item Production-Inventory System Under Alternative Policies

Paul H. Zipkin
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Paul H. Zipkin: Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027

Management Science, 1995, vol. 41, issue 4, 690-703

Abstract: This paper explores the performance of a multi-item production-inventory system. We compare two alternative policies, representing different modes of collecting and utilizing information. We derive a closed-form measure of performance for one of them, the familiar first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy, and propose a comparable approximation for the other, the longest-queue (LQ) policy. These results are illustrated and tested through simulations. In this way we address several basic managerial issues: What is the value of centralized information in complex systems? How does the breadth of the product line affect performance?

Keywords: queues with inventory; longest queue policy; cost of variety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1995
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:41:y:1995:i:4:p:690-703

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