TY - JOUR A2 - Ge, Dongdong AU - Ho, Wen-Tsung PY - 2013 DA - 2013/11/26 TI - Determining the Optimum Ordering Policy in Multi-Item Joint Replenishment Problem Using a Novel Method SP - 469794 VL - 2013 AB - This work investigates the joint replenishment problem (JRP) involving multiple items where economies exist for replenishing several items simultaneously. The demand rate for each item is known and constant. Shortages are not permitted and lead times are negligible. Many heuristic algorithms have been proposed to find quality solutions for the JRP. In this paper, cycle time division and recursive tightening methods are developed to calculate an efficient and optimal replenishment policy for JRP. Two theorems are demonstrated to guarantee that an optimal solution to the problem can be derived using cycle time division and recursive tightening methods. Restated, cycle time division and recursive tightening methods theoretically yield the optimal solution in 100% of instances. The complexity of cycle time division and recursive tightening methods is just O(NlogN), where N represents the number of items involved in the problem. Numerical examples are included to demonstrate the algorithmic procedures. SN - 1024-123X UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/469794 DO - 10.1155/2013/469794 JF - Mathematical Problems in Engineering PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -