The models we present in this chapter are related to two classical inventory models: The EOQ model of Harris (1913) and the dynamic lot size model of Wagner and Whitin (1958). In relation to the EOQ model, our models depart in three different ways: (1) the EOQ model assumes that the problem...

We model an impulse control problem when the controller's action affects the state as well as the dynamics of the state process for a random amount of time. We apply our model to solve a central bank intervention problem in the foreign exchange market when the market observes and reacts to the...

We study sourcing and pricing decisions of a firm with correlated suppliers and a price-dependent demand. With two suppliers, the insight -- cost is the order qualifier while reliability is the order winner -- derived in the literature for the case of exogenously determined price and independent...

Inventory control is among the most important topics in operations research because of large investments in inventory and their effect on the profitability of the firms. A systematic analysis of inventory problems began with the development of the classical EOQ formula of Ford W. Harris in 1913,...

Ever since the publication of Pontryagin's Maximum Principle, the number of its applications to management science problems has been steadily growing. This paper is an up-to-date survey of the applications of the deterministic maximum principle to the three functional areas of management:...

A mixed optimization technique for optimal machine replacement is presented which allows much more flexibility than previous models. Optimal purchase, maintenance and sale of a given machine between any two given points in time is treated as a subproblem, which one may choose to solve via...

Management science applications frequently involve problems of controlling continuous time dynamic systems, that is, systems which evolve over time. Optimal control theory, a relatively new branch of mathematics, determines the optimal way to control such a dynamic system. The purpose of this...

An application of the Stokes' theorem is illustrated by solving the two state problem, with inequality constraints, of Dobell and Ho concerning the optimal investment of resources. Whenever applicable, the Stokes' theorem approach seems to be elegant and parsimonious

In a multiperiod decision problem it is usually the decisions in the first or first few periods that are of immediate importance to the manager. Decision/Forecast horizon (DH/FH) research deals with the question of whether optimal decisions in the first or first few periods (known as DH) can be...

We establish the computational complexity of the problem of minimizing makespan in a flowshop, where each jobs requires a pallet the entire time, from the start of its first operation until the completion of the last operation. We prove that the problem is NP-hard in the strong sense for m =2...