In practices, not only production but inspection processes are often not perfect, thereby generating defects and inspection errors. Previous imperfect-quality inventory studies, however, have mostly focused on developing cost-minimizing models that do not consider imperfect inspection processes...

This study examines an imperfect production and inspection system with customer return and defective disposal. We develop an optimal lot sizing model with production and inspection quality investment, incorporating all the quality costs. We find the optimal lot size, rework frequency, defective...

This study aims to identify the relationship between return policy and product quality decisions in a decentralized system. We consider a supply chain situation, as in a retail or OEM supply chain system, where a buyer decides a return policy for consumers and delegates the product quality...

The practice of target pricing has been a key factor in the success of Japanese manufacturers. In the more commonly known demand-side approach, the target price for the supplier equals the manufacturer's market price less a percent margin for the manufacturer but no cost-improvement expenses are...

After more than two decades since quality became part of managers' everyday lexicon, total quality management (TQM) and ISO 9000 have taken the centre stage. However, there has been much debate about how they might be related to each other. This research is a new contribution to the knowledge on...