Feature Article—Research Portfolio for Inventory Management and Production Planning Systems

Abstract

This paper provides a nontechnical survey of the status of inventory management systems. The central theme is an enumeration of practical problems that need research and analytic attention. These problems arise in the diagnostic, design, system performance forecasting, and implementation phases of real-life inventory management improvement projects. The paper describes many of the detailed aspects of such projects, and discusses where operations research has not yet provided sufficient scientific foundation to judge the merit of pragmatic alternatives for dealing with these problems.