Inventory control under a probabilistic time-varying, demand pattern

Abstract Abstract In this paper we deal with an important, practical problem, namely how to determine the timing and the sizes of the replenishments of an item having probabilistic demand with an average value that varies significantly with time. We provide a heuristic approach to resolving this complex problem; this approach permits sequential answers to the following questions: i) is it time to order? ii) how long a period should the replenishment be expected to cover? iii) how large should the replenishment be?