This paper investigates the delay experienced by retailers in a distribution system due to shortages at the central warehouse. Simple formulae are developed to estimate the mean and variance of this delay. The formulae are based on replacing the stochastic lead-time demand with a stochastic...

The effect of financial risks on (R, Q) inventory policies is analyzed in a real options framework. Simple adjustments of the usual formulas for R and Q are suggested and tested. Stochastic demand and purchase costs are considered, both with known systematic (business-cycle-related) risk. The...

This paper compares installation and echelon stock policies for multilevel inventory control. The major results are for serial and assembly systems. For (Q, r)-rules, echelon stock policies are, in general, superior to installation stock policies. A Kanban-policy is identified as a restricted...