Diverse replenishment frequency model for TOC supply chain replenishment systems with capacity constraints

When the theory of constraints (TOC) supply chain replenishment system (TOC-SCRS) is deployed in a plant or a central warehouse, replenishment frequency (RF) becomes one of the important decision parameters and depends on the sales or replenishment quantity (RQ) in the plant. The higher RF is preferred by TOC for the low inventory and the fast response to different market requirements. However, when sales significantly increase and capacity is not enough, the lower RF is required to save the setup capacity. Some existing RF determination models substantially increased in inventory. This paper proposes a diverse RF model for TOC-SCRS with capacity constraints so that the RF will only moderately increase in inventory. A numeric example is utilised to evaluate the proposed method and a prototype is further provided to demonstrate its feasibility and performance. The proposed model will enable a plant or a central warehouse to successfully implement an effective TOC-SCRS. Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.