In this paper, we consider multi-item inventory management. When managing a multi-item inventory, we coordinate replenishment orders of items supplied by the same supplier. The associated problem is called the joint replenishment problem (JRP). One often-used approach to the JRP is to apply a can-order policy. Under a can-order policy, some items are re-ordered when their inventory level drops to or below their re-order level, and any other item with an inventory level at or below its can-order level can be included in this order. In the present paper, we propose a method for finding the optimal parameter of a can-order policy, the can-order level, for each item in a lost-sales model. The main objectives in our model are minimizing the number of ordering, inventory, and shortage (i.e., lost-sales) respectively, compared with the conventional JRP, in which the objective is to minimize total cost. In order to solve this multi-objective optimization problem, we apply a genetic algorithm. In a numerical experiment using actual shipment data, we simulate the proposed model and compare the results with those of other methods.

In the present paper, a multi-item inventory problem with the capacity to replenish carriers is considered. In the present study, we propose a model that considers truck capacity, truck cost, and receiving inspection cost with inventories and shortages in inventory management simultaneously. A number of studies have examined the minimum total cost while considering the ordering cost as fixed and not considering the carrier capacity or receiving inspection cost. However, we consider the stepwise ordering cost, which changes in a stepwise manner according to the ordered quantity and the capacity of the carrier. In addition, we consider a receiving inspection cost that is defined not only by ordered quantity but also by ordered item variety. The problem considered herein was formulated as a mathematical programming problem in a finite planning period, and valid inequalities were considered. We could consider individual objective functions for ordering, holding, lost sales, and receiving inspection cost together. We can observe that the receiving inspection cost could be reduced by aggregating the order quantity.

We herein consider a stochastic multi-item inventory management problem in which a warehouse sells multiple items with stochastic demand and periodic replenishment from a supplier. Inventory management requires the timing and amounts of orders to be determined. For inventory replenishment, trucks of finite capacity are available. Most inventory management models consider either a single item or assume that multiple items are ordered independently, and whether there is sufficient space in trucks. The order cost is commonly calculated based on the number of carriers and the usage fees of carriers. In this situation, we can reduce future shipments by supplementing items to an order, even if the item is not scheduled to be ordered. On the other hand, we can reduce the average number of items in storage by reducing the order volume and at the risk of running out of stock. The primary variables of interest in the present research are the average number of items in storage, the stock-out volume, and the number of carriers used. We formulate this problem as a multi-objective optimization problem. In a numerical experiment based on actual shipment data, we consider the item shipping characteristics and simulate the warehouse replenishing items coordinately. The results of the simulation indicate that applying a conventional ordering policy individually will not provide effective inventory management.

It is difficult to find an appropriate ordering policy for a many types of items. One of the reasons for this difficulty is that each item has a different demand trend. We will classify items by shipment trend and then decide the ordering policy for each item category. In this study, we indicate that categorizing items from their statistical characteristics leads to an ordering policy suitable for that category. We analyze the ordering policy and shipment trend and propose a new method for selecting the ordering policy which is based on finding the strongest relation between the classification of the items and the ordering policy. In our numerical experiment, from actual shipment data of about 5,000 items over the past year, we calculated many statistics that represent the trend of each item. Next, we applied the canonical correlation analysis between the evaluations of ordering policies and the various statistics. Furthermore, we applied the cluster analysis on the statistics concerning the performance of ordering policies. Finally, we separate items into several categories and show that the appropriate ordering policies are different for each category.