Rotable inventory calculation method
First Claim
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1. A method of optimizing rotable inventory, comprising:
- selecting a desired customer service level;
obtaining at least one characteristic of a part repair lead-time distribution;
computing a proposed inventory level based on said at least one characteristic;
determining a calculated customer service level corresponding to the proposed inventory level;
comparing the calculated customer service level with the desired customer service level; and
selecting the proposed inventory level as an optimized inventory level if the calculated customer service level is within a selected convergence threshold with respect to the desired customer service level.
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Abstract
A method for conducting a repairable inventory analysis calculates the minimum number of repairable parts to be held in inventory while still being able to satisfy the demand for spare parts even in view of uncertain repair lead times. The method uses a set of equations that relates a customer service level to arbitrary probability distribution functions of a repair lead-time and a part arrival process. The distributions are then searched to locate the optimal inventory level in the distribution.
27 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of optimizing rotable inventory, comprising:
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selecting a desired customer service level;
obtaining at least one characteristic of a part repair lead-time distribution;
computing a proposed inventory level based on said at least one characteristic;
determining a calculated customer service level corresponding to the proposed inventory level;
comparing the calculated customer service level with the desired customer service level; and
selecting the proposed inventory level as an optimized inventory level if the calculated customer service level is within a selected convergence threshold with respect to the desired customer service level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer system for optimizing rotable inventory, comprising:
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a user interface;
a processor that executes an algorithm to determine an optimized inventory level, the algorithm comprising the steps of selecting a desired customer service level, obtaining at least one characteristic of a part repair lead-time distribution, computing a proposed inventory level based on said at least one characteristic, determining a calculated customer service level corresponding to the proposed inventory level, comparing the calculated customer service level with the desired customer service level, and selecting the proposed inventory level as an optimized inventory level if the calculated customer service level is within a selected convergence threshold with respect to the desired customer service level; and
a memory that stores data to be used by the processor to execute the algorithm.
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15. A method of maintaining an optimized rotable inventory level, comprising:
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determining an optimized inventory level, the determining step including;
selecting a desired customer service level;
obtaining at least one characteristic of a part repair lead-time distribution;
computing a proposed inventory level based on said at least one characteristic;
determining a calculated customer service level corresponding to the proposed inventory level;
comparing the calculated customer service level with the desired customer service level;
selecting the proposed inventory level as an optimized inventory level if the calculated customer service level is within a selected convergence threshold with respect to the desired customer service level; and
maintaining an inventory level responsive to said optimized inventory level.
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Specification