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How
does one optimize inventory in situations where sales are
proportional to the inventory displayed? This problem is addressed
in the first article which is "A Time-Dependent Deteriorating
EOQ Model with Selling Price and Stock-Dependent Demand During
Inflation Under Supplier Credits" by Ravi Gor and Nita
Shah. It deals with this problem under conditions of deteriorating
inventory items as well as changes in supplier payment terms.
The authors have developed a model for arriving at an optimal
solution which has been illustrated through a numeric example.
The
second Article on "Evaluation and Economic Selection
of Raw Materials' Inventory Control Policies: A Case Study"
by Mahendra Pratap and Harwinder Singh also deals with an
inventory management issue concerning the degree of control
required over various inventory items. This paper addresses
major issues in this area through a study done in an engineering
company and also shows how buffer stocks can help reduce shortage
costs.
The
third article in this issue, "Scheduling with Processing
Alternatives: An Approach to Minimize Makespan in a Multi-Product
Manufacturing Industry" by V Mahesh, Sandeep Dulluri,
A Chennakesava Reddy and C S P Rao is on a new methodology
for integrating the process planning function with the shop-floor
scheduling function. The authors have proposed a methodology
whereby these two functions interact dynamically with each
other to give better output through fewer bottlenecks and
higher throughput on the shop-floor.
In
the fourth article, "Implementation of Total Productive
Manufacturing Concept with Reference to Lean Manufacturing
in a Processing Industry in Mysore: A Practical Approach"
by V Ramesh, K V Sreenivasa Prasad and T R Srinivas, the authors
discuss how total productive manufacturing process has helped
in improving the cycle-time, lowering machine breakdown rates
and increasing efficiency in a tyre manufacturing plant.
This
issue concludes with a case on "FedEx: The Cutting Edge
Delivery _ An Innovation" by Abhijit Sinha. This case
examines how FedEx Corporation, USA, a pioneer in global express
delivery logistics, transformed its traditional supply chain
from a document delivery company to a 3rd party
logistics service provider to meet the business needs in a
fast changing business environment and maintained its market
leadership position.
We
hope that the articles in this issue will provide useful insights
into contemporary thoughts and practices in the area of operations
management.
--
Sumitro Saha
Consulting
Editor
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