Spreadsheet Inventory Simulation and Optimization Models and Their Application in a National Pharmacy Chain

INFORMS Transactions on Education

Xinhui Zhang¹  Yan Liu²  Qiang Liu²  Lebin Lin² 

[1] and School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China;Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio 45435

关键词: spreadsheet modeling;    teaching inventory management;    simulation optimization;   

DOI  :  10.1287/ited.2013.0114

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: INFORMS

【 摘 要 】

This paper presents a spreadsheet model for the solution of inventory management problems that arise in pharmacy chain stores. Though there have been abundant spreadsheet models for inventory management, most of these models focus on the use of embedded functions to compute complicated formulas. The spreadsheet model presented in this paper, however, incorporates a simulation of the ordering process and an iterative procedure to search for near-optimal solutions, and is easy to understand by students and practitioners. The methodology has been successfully implemented in a national chain of pharmacies; and the spreadsheet model integrated into the curriculum of several engineering courses including inventory management, simulation, and optimization and it has provided an interactive environment for students to experience real-life inventory decision making. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Paul A. Jensen, whose widely adopted Excel add-ins have inspired our education and research in spreadshee...

【 授权许可】

CC BY