Warehouse inventory control system using periodic square wave model

Abstract

An inventory control system was developed for a distribution system consisting of a single multiproduct warehouse serving a set of customers and purchasing products from multiple vendors. Purchase orders requesting multiple products are delivered to the warehouse in a process. The receipt of customer orders by the warehouse proceeded in order intervals and in order quantities that are subject to random fluctuations. The objective of warehouse operation is to minimize the total cost while maintaining inventory levels within the warehouse capacity by adjusting the purchase order intervals and quantities. An adaptive model predictive control algorithm was developed using a periodic square wave model to represent the material flows. The adaptive concept incorporated a stabilized minimum variance control-type input calculation coupled with input/output stream parameter predictions. The effectiveness of the scheme was demonstrated using simulations.