Inventory Theory

3 credits · Graduate

This course introduces mathematical models designed to support the management of production, distribution, and inventory, the basic physics of a supply chain. A primary concern is the control of logistics systems: Given a scenario describing supply, demand, and cost factors, what is an effective policy for controlling the system over time? Through careful formulation and analysis of a model of the system, we shall learn how to evaluate the key performance metrics of the system under a given policy, and then to compute an optimal policy. Recommended prerequisite: some familiarity with stochastic processes, optimization, and dynamic programming is essential. Instructor consent required.