An integrated one-vendor multi-buyer production-inventory model with shipment consolidation policy incorporated

This paper considers an Integrated one-vendor multi-buyer production-inventory model where the vendor manufactures multiple products In lot at Her associated finite production rates In the model. It is allowed for earth product to be shipped In lot to the buyers before the whole product production is not completed yet. Each product lot is dispatched to the associated buyer In a number or shipments. The buyers consume their products at fixed rates. The objective is to the production and shipment schedules in the Integrated system. which minimizes the mean total annual cost per unit time. The mean total annual cost consists or production setup cost inventory holding cost and shipment cost. For the model, an Iterative optimal solution procedure with shipment consolidation policy incorporated is derived. It is then tested through numerical experiments to show how efficient and effective He shipment consolidation policy is.