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Dynamic Lot Sizing Case Study Analysis

This document outlines an assignment involving dynamic lot sizing and time-varying demand. Students are asked to solve a case study where a company has monthly demand for a product over a year. Students must determine the optimal order quantity, total cost, and order frequency using the EOQ model and various heuristics like lot-for-lot, part period balancing, and Silver-Meal. Students also use dynamic programming via the Wagner-Whitin algorithm. The results from each method are to be summarized and compared.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
215 views4 pages

Dynamic Lot Sizing Case Study Analysis

This document outlines an assignment involving dynamic lot sizing and time-varying demand. Students are asked to solve a case study where a company has monthly demand for a product over a year. Students must determine the optimal order quantity, total cost, and order frequency using the EOQ model and various heuristics like lot-for-lot, part period balancing, and Silver-Meal. Students also use dynamic programming via the Wagner-Whitin algorithm. The results from each method are to be summarized and compared.

Uploaded by

Linh Tran
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

OMGT2277 – Supply Chain Analytics – 2023A

Assignment 1 - Case Study (Individual Assignment)

Dynamic Lot Sizing

The dynamic lot-size model in inventory theory, is a generalisation of the Economic Order
Quantity (EOQ) model that takes into account that demand for a product varies over time.

Dynamic lot sizing sometimes refers to as ‘Time-Varying Demand’ as well. In contrast to EOQ
model where demand is constant, in the time-varying deterministic demand model, demands of
various periods are unlike. The variations depend on different reasons. For example, production
on a contract, which requires that certain quantities are delivered on specified dates. Note that we
are still considering deterministic demand, i.e., all variations are known in advance. In the basic
models, lead-time is disregarded. When dealing with lot sizing for time-varying demand, it is
generally assumed that there are a finite number of discrete time steps, or periods. A period may
be, for example, a day or a week. We know the demand in each period, and for simplicity, it is
assumed that the period demand takes place at the beginning of the period. There is no initial
stock. When delivering a batch, the whole batch is delivered at the same time. The holding cost
and the ordering cost are constant over time. No backorders are allowed. We shall use the
following notation:

Problem

Coop Mart has received the following demands for a product this year:

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Demand 300 700 800 900 3300 200 600 900 200 300 1000 800
Suppose ordering cost (OC) is $504 and holding cost (HC) of one unit of product
in a year is $3. There is no shortage cost. Backordering is not allowed in this model.

To achieve the minimum total cost (ordering cost + holding cost), how many times
the company should place orders in a year? In each order, how many products
should be ordered? What is the total cost in a year?

Watch these two videos:

• Video 1: Lot Sizing


• Video 2: Lot sizing - heuristics

Question Section

Q1 (2 marks)

Given that the total demand of the whole year is 10,000 products, suppose the company is going
to use the EOQ model for the accumulated demand of one year (10,000). In other words, ignore
the monthly demand. Compute:

• Optimal order quantity (Q*)


• Total cost
• Frequency of orders
• Time between orders

Q2 (5 marks)

Use mixed integer linear programming to solve the problem regarding the monthly demand.
Suppose that holding cost is applied to the ending inventory.

• Develop the mathematical model in the Word document.


• Solve the problem in MS Excel
• Develop a plan in the Word document and explain when and how many products should be
ordered in order to minimise the total cost.
• Recalculate the optimal value of objective function (total cost with the new assumption that
the holding cost is applied to the average inventory (not ending inventory).
Q3 (1 mark)

Use ‘Lot for Lot’ heuristic method and compute the total cost.

Q4 (3 marks)

Use “Part Period Balancing” heuristic method to develop a schedule to show when and how many
products should be ordered and compute the total cost.

Note: to compute holding cost, use average inventory (not ending inventory).

Q5 (4 marks)

Use ‘Silver_Meal’ heuristic method, develop a schedule to show when and how many products
should be ordered, and compute the total cost.

Silver Meal heuristic method was coined by Gorham (1968).

Note: to compute holding cost, use average inventory (not ending inventory).

Q6 (3 marks)

Over the last five questions, you applied the methods which were explained in the videos. Now,
it is your turn to research!

In this section, students are required to use Dynamic Programming based on the ‘Wagner-Whitin’
Algorithm to develop a schedule to show when and how many products should be ordered, and
compute the total cost.

To understand how Wagner-Whitin Algorithm works:

• Refer to the chapter ‘Single-Echelon Systems: Deterministic Lot Sizing’, section 4.6 (The
Wagner-Whitin Algorithm works:) of Axsater’s book (Axsater, 2007) which is available
online via RMIT library.

• Check slides 14 to 18 of this reference in which a sample problem is solved using the
Wagner-Whitin Algorithm. If you are interested to read the original article (Wagner and
Whitin, 1958), you can click here.
Note: In the process of identifying the optimal order quantity, use the ending inventory. Then,
to compute the total cost, use average inventory (not ending inventory).
Summary (2 marks)

Put the results of all methods in a summary table (template is provided as below) and discuss.

Note

• For all questions, the answers should be provided in the Word document. However, it is
only mandatory to provide your solution in Excel for the Linear Programming section.
• The process and calculation steps should be included in the Word document.

References

Axsater, S. (2007) Inventory control. Second Edition. Boston, MA: Springer US (International
series in operations research & management science).

Gorham, T. (1968) ‘Dynamic order quantities’, Production and Inventory Management, 9(1), pp.
75–81.

Wagner, H. M. and Whitin, T. M. (1958) ‘Dynamic version of the economic lot size model’,
Management science. INFORMS, 5(1), pp. 89–96.

Common questions

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Holding cost is a critical component in calculating optimal order frequency because it represents the cost incurred for keeping inventory over time. In dynamic lot-sizing methods, the demand varies with each period, which impacts how much inventory needs to be held, thereby affecting the total holding costs. Calculating these costs accurately ensures that the long-term storage costs do not negate the benefits of bulk purchasing .

Mixed integer linear programming can optimize order scheduling by formulating the problem with constraints that represent the inventory flow balance, order quantities, and cost minimization objectives. In time-varying demand scenarios, it considers various demand levels across periods and uses variables to decide whether to order or not in each period, minimizing total cost, which includes ordering and holding costs .

Not allowing backorders in dynamic lot-sizing models forces the company to have sufficient inventory to meet demand in each period, thereby increasing inventory holding costs. This restriction can lead to higher total costs as it necessitates timely and sometimes frequent ordering, reducing flexibility in inventory management to respond to fluctuations in demand .

The 'Part Period Balancing' heuristic aims to equate holding costs over periods to ordering costs by balancing demand across multiple periods to minimize total cost. The 'Silver Meal' heuristic, however, focuses on minimizing the cost per period as soon as an increment causes an increase in average cost per unit time, generally optimizing short-term order costs better than Part Period Balancing .

The 'Lot for Lot' heuristic method is most effective when demand is highly variable and organizations want to minimize inventory holding costs by ordering only the exact amount needed for each period. Its limitations include frequent ordering, leading to higher ordering costs, and it may not take advantage of economies of scale in purchasing .

Dynamic programming in the Wagner-Whitin Algorithm addresses multi-period lot-sizing problems by breaking down the inventory management issue into smaller, manageable stages. It systematically evaluates different ordering scenarios, calculating costs recursively to ensure decisions minimize total costs over all periods, considering both immediate and future demands .

Applying holding cost to average inventory accounts for the cost of inventory over the time it remains in storage, providing a more uniform cost distribution over the time periods. In contrast, calculating holding cost based on ending inventory might overlook the mid-period inventory levels, potentially leading to under or overestimating actual holding costs .

Ignoring monthly demand in EOQ calculations can lead to inaccurate forecasting as it assumes constant demand across the year. This simplification can result in suboptimal ordering and substantial cost discrepancies if significant seasonal demand variations exist, potentially leading to excess inventory or stockouts .

The Wagner-Whitin Algorithm offers the advantage of determining the precise number of units to order and schedule of orders that minimizes total costs under varying demand scenarios by using a dynamic programming approach. This method effectively handles variable demand and incorporates both setup and holding costs, providing more accurate solutions than traditional lot-sizing techniques which may not always accommodate fluctuating demand accurately .

The dynamic lot-size model, unlike the EOQ model, accounts for time-varying demand, meaning demand for a product varies over time. In the EOQ model, demand is constant and known, while in the time-varying deterministic demand model used by dynamic lot sizing, the variations in demand are pre-known and happen over discrete time periods, such as weeks or months .

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