Decision Sciences Journal
Volume 29, Number 4
Fall 1998
On Inventory Abatement via Manufacturing Randomness Reductions
Antonio Arreola-Risa
Department of Information & Operations Management, Lowry
Mays College & Graduate School of Business, Texas A&M
University, College Station, TX 77843-4217,
email: tarreola@tamu.edu
ABSTRACT. Under a continuous improvement framework,
the policy of abating inventory via reductions in manufacturing
randomness is considered. To explore this policy, a model of
a real-world production-inventory system is developed, tested,
and studied. The results suggest that manufacturing randomness
reductions, even substantial ones, may not necessarily lead to
inventory abatement, and paradoxically may lead sometimes to
an inventory increase. In these cases, however, manufacturing
randomness reductions will translate into higher customer service
levels.
Subject Areas: Inventory Management, Inventory Theory,
Probability Models, and Queueing Theory. |