Optimal Acquisition and Inventory Control for a Remanufacturing System

Abstract

Optimal acquisition and inventory control can often make the difference between successful and unsuccessful remanufacturing. However, there is a greater degree of uncertainty and complexity in a remanufacturing system, which leads to a critical need for planning and control models designed to deal with this added uncertainty and complexity. In this paper, a method for optimal acquisition and inventory control of a remanufacturing system is presented. The method considers three inventories, one for returned item and the other for serviceable and recoverable items. Taking the holding cost for returns, recoverable and remanufactured products, remanufacturing cost, disposal cost, and the loss caused by backlog into account, the optimal inventory control model is established to minimize the total costs. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the proposed methods.