Optimal Production and Recovery Lot Sizes for an Inventory System with Remanufacturing

摘要

In this paper we address the problem of determining the optimal lot sizes for the production of new items and for the recovery of returned items. We consider policies that alternate one production lot with a fixed number of recovery lots. The demand rate and return fraction are deterministic. The objective is to minimize the total cost per time unit for ordering recovery lots, for ordering production lots, for holding recoverable items in stock, and for holding new/recovered items in stock. We derive optimal lot-sizing formulae and propose simple modifications of resulting lot sizes. These formulae are valid for finite and infinite production rates as well as finite and infinite recovery rates, and therefore more general than those in the literature. Moreover, the method of derivation is easy and insightful.