Modern Logistics Management, Inventory Control Strategy

This dissertation begins with the brief introduction to the concepts of modem logistics in the first section of Chapter One. The main problem which modern logistics is expected to solve is how to deliver the required materials and cargoes to any designated position of the production and circulation field at the right time and with the right quality, right quantity and the lowest cost. The modern logistical management is different from traditional logistical management in many ways. Under the supply chain management, logistical management may involve a great deal of information.The second section of Chapter One demonstrates the significance of inventory management. This section generalized the functions of inventory, namely, the function of geographical specialization, the function of decoupling, the function of balancing the supply and demand, the function of the buffer stock. Under the condition of meeting the requirements of customers, the objective of inventory management is to cut inventory level, improve the efficiency of logistical operations, and enhance the competition capacity of enterprises. Under the supply chain management, it can not only cut the inventory level, thus reducing the holding cost, but also improve the customer satisfaction. The third section of this Chapter generalizes the studies of inventory management.The first section of Chapter Two introduces the basic theory of inventory management. The second section introduces the policies of single-stage inventory management and several conventional inventory models, including classical EOQ models, base-stock policy, etc.Chapter Three introduces the foundation of multi-echelon inventory system. The first section introduces the background under which we study multi-echelon inventory system. To optimize and control the supply chain, we must optimize and control the multi-echelon inventory system firstly. The second section introduces the basic theory of multi-echelon inventory system, including the structures of systems, the problems and policies of inventory management. The third section introduces serial system, which is the basic and simplest structure of system.Chapter Four studies the policies for multi-echelon inventory system withdeterministic demand. The first section studies the stationary policy for inventory system without backlogging. The findings are that it is optimal to use power-of-two integer-ratio stationary policies. The second section studies the stationary policy for inventory system with backlogging. It can be converted to the model without backlogging.Chapter Five studies the policies for multi-echelon inventory system with stochastic demand. The first section assumes that the demand is a simple poison process and orders incur no fixed ordering cost. The findings are that it is optimal to use base-stock policy. The second section assumes that outer ordering incurs fixed ordering cost, then outer ordering uses (R, Q) policy, while inner ordering uses base-stock policy. The third section discusses that when every stage incurs fixed ordering cost and each uses echelon stock (R, Q) policy, we assume that demand is a poison process, and we use a lower bound as near-optimal solution for a two-stage inventory system.