Optimal Centralization/Decentralization Degree of Components Inventory and Optimal Feeding System in an Assembly System

This paper addresses a practical decision-making approach in order to optimize the correct management of the components in the production/assembly systems. Typically in the Assembly to Order (ATO) or Make to Order (MTO) system, the centralization/decentralization degree of the parts stocking point and the feeding system are the most important problems to face in order to guarantee the economic and flexible level of the whole production/assembly system. The scientific contribution has analyzed in different and independent ways these problems. This paper proposes a series of guide lines to optimize the parts stocks, the warehouses number and location in order to minimize the total production costs and choose the right feeding policies to maximize the flexible level. The proposed method has general validity for any slow and fast moving typology of parts and consists in a trade-off research problem.