EXPRESS: Managing Hybrid Manufacturing/Remanufacturing Inventory Systems with Random Production Capacities

Abstract

In this paper, we consider hybrid manufacturing/remanufacturing inventory systems that produce a single product to satisfy demands over a finite planning horizon. In each period, the firm receives random demand and returns of end-of-life products. A serviceable product can be manufactured from ample raw materials or remanufactured from a returned product. The two operations possess random dedicated capacities. The firm’s objective is to minimize the expected total discounted cost over the planning horizon. We partially characterize the firm’s optimal inventory policy when the two capacities are positively dependent and completely characterize it when only one capacity is random. When there is ample manufacturing capacity, we connect the model with an auxiliary dual-sourcing inventory model and derive a more detailed structure of the optimal policy. Finally, our numerical study provides actionable insights into the effects of random capacities. Among others, we find that approximating a slightly/moderately variable remanufacturing capacity as its deterministic mean capacity or ignoring the correlation between two random capacities under a multi-period setting incurs a limited cost to the firm.