Evolutionary multi-objective Algorithm for Continuous Review Stochastic Inventory Systems

Abstract

Different inventory control systems try to determine how much and when to order at the least relevant cost while maintaining a desirable service level for customers. In this article, a continuous review stochastic inventory system, with three objectives, is optimized. In this model, contrary to the traditional inventory models, customer service is not considered a shortage cost in the objective function. But the frequency of stock out occasions and the number of items stocked out annually are to be minimized. For determining the Pareto optimal set, multi-objective evolutionary algorithms are used. First, NSGA-II, MOGA, VEGA, RWGA are developed. Then some improvements in NSGA-II mechanisms are made and R-NSGA-II is developed. Subsequently, these algorithms are examined for some criteria such as set coverage and spacing, and the best algorithms for each criteria arc presented. The Result shows that R-NSGA-II has good scores for most criteria. Afterwards, Pareto optimal set is ranked using the method of global criteria.

Keywords

• inventory control and planning
• multi - objective optimization
• evolutionary algorithms