Determination of the Number of Kanbans and Batch Sizes in a JIT Supply Chain System

Abstract

Under stochastic demand in the multi-stage SCM in a JIT environment, the probability of generating a function of the stationary distributions of the backlogged demand was extended. The batch size of WIPs has a great impact on the packing, unpacking or transferring costs of a chain; it has been attempted to integrate the delivery batch size of each plant in a multi-stage serial chain with the production-ordering and supplier kanbans of the chain. An algorithm was developed to evaluate the optimal numbers of kanbans and batch sizes of each plant by minimizing the total cost of a chain. A numerical example is also provided to indicate the signi cance of adding the proposed assumptions, as well as demonstrating the approach adopted towards solving the problem.