Lisansüstü Semineri: Dr. Emre Nadar, “A Novel Optimal Policy Structure for Managing Inventory in Assemble-to-Order Systems”, 16 May 2014

Yasar University Industrial Engineering Department Graduate Seminar Series is continuing with  “A Novel Optimal Policy Structure for Managing Inventory in Assemble-to-Order Systems”  by Dr. Emre Nadar. Seminar will be held in Y317 on May 16,2014 at 11:00.

A Novel Optimal Policy Structure for Managing Inventory in Assemble-to-Order Systems

Abstract:

Assemble-to-order (ATO) systems are popular in many industries including, but not limited to, automotive, consumer electronics, and online retailing, where offering customized products and services within a short response window plays a vital role. Although popular in practice, characterizing optimal control policies for ATO systems has remained a longstanding challenge in the field of Operations Management. In this study, we move one step closer to solving this challenging issue: We study the problem of inventory replenishment and allocation for a manufacturer who sells an assembled product as well as individual spare parts. We model the problem as a Markov decision process, with state space consisting of component inventory levels. By partitioning the state space into multiple disjoint lattices based on products’ component requirements, we establish the optimality of base-stock production and stock rationing policies on each lattice. Our computational results reveal the practicality of such lattice-dependent base-stock and rationing policies for ATO systems with general product structures.

This research is joint work with Mustafa Akan and Alan Scheller-Wolf from the Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University.

Bio: Emre Nadar is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Bilkent University. He received his B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Operations Management from the Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University. His research interests include stochastic dynamic programming, queueing theory, supply chain management, and sustainable operations.