Capacity expansion is the process of providing new facilities over time to meet rising demand. A general mathematical model of this process is presented, incorporating uncertain future demand (including the possibility of 'surprises'), non-zero lead times and random cost overruns. In this model...

In this note, we extend the sufficiency conditions obtained by Bean and Smith for the existence of decision and forecast horizons in discounted deterministic problems to a stochastic environment. Also developed are some examples for illustration of the results and the need for the development of...

With the boom of e-commerce, express delivery has been increasingly regarded as a bottleneck and key factor for achieving success. Additionally, whether to include such express delivery service or not is an important yet outstandingly unsolved problem for online retailers. In this regard, this...

We investigate the impact of the process of manufacturing and distribution on the safety stock levels in a supply chain. A pipeline hedging method is used to derive a model for estimating the safety stock levels. We propose methods and guidelines to redesign the manufacturing and distribution...

We study a two-stage purchase contract with a demand forecast update. The purchase contract provides the buyer an opportunity to adjust an initial commitment based on an updated demand forecast obtained at a later stage. An adjustment, if any, incurs a fixed as well as a variable cost. Using a...

We begin with a supplier (she) who wholesales to a retailer (he), and is considering to encroach into the retail market by opening an independent online/offline store to sell directly to consumers (a direct channel encroachment) or by selling directly to consumers through the online platform of...

Managing customer satisfaction in a cost effective way has always been a major challenge faced by inventory managers. We study the problem of a newsvendor selling a perishable product with short-term demand patterns and a long-term service target. The newsvendor determines his long-term order at...

The process of delivering goods and services better, faster and cheaper sounds simple but can sometimes be unpredictable and lead to shortages or surpluses. Over the past two decades, the supply chain journey has evolved through a number of distinct phases along with a shift in power from...