Inbound container queuing optimization model for distribution centers
Name
1003322000-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
3.97 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
01733b6a9da73756817976d6f1602085
Author(s)
Forthuber, Russell G
Advisor(s)
Stephen Graves and Stanley B. Gershwin.
Date Issued
2017
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Large, multi-national retailers have massive, worldwide supply chain networks which move product from a supplier to the end consumer. During the product's transit from a factory to a regional distribution center, customers may change or cancel their order, or the planned arrival date of the product at the distribution center may change. These products are packed in containers and arrive at the distribution center daily. Each day, humans may make decisions of which containers will be received at a distribution center and there are opportunity costs associated with selecting the wrong container to receive, namely, that the distribution center will become filled with product which is not immediately needed to meet outbound demand. This thesis analyzes one method of receiving containers at a distribution center and the impacts it has on satisfying customers' orders. A model for a lean inventory management system and a container selection optimization model are described in it. Representative data is presented and the model is used to solve which containers should be received. Finally, the efficacy of the model and a comparison to a heuristic are discussed.
Description
Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2017.
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2017.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 67).
Subjects
Sloan School of Management.
Mechanical Engineering.
Leaders for Global Operations Program.
MIT Department
Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Sloan School of Management
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