Modify the example code to accommodate a second product (such as bottled orange juice) from the same manufacturer and model the related capacity constraints (a fridge). Assume that the delivery cost covers both products as long as they are ordered simultaneously.
Examine possible restocking strategies (order when either product is low on stock, order when at least one product is low on stock, or order only when both are low). Show your code, visualize the results, and discuss your findings in writing.
Combine the multi-objective approach from the case study with cars and the inventory-management problem from this week to explore good combinations for three of more adjustable attributes such as the cost of the product, the capacity of the oven and the freezer, or the maximum lead time (maybe another provided can deliver faster).
Search for survey articles on Google Scholar or another online scientific repository on inventory management under uncertainty. Pick at least one and skim through it.
In our in-class example, the demand and the lead time were assumed to be uncertain, whereas other aspects were assumed constant. Reflect in writing, based on what you read and what you can deduce on your own, on what other aspects would in the real world be uncertain and how we could adjust the model to take that into account. Discuss also potential elements that are absent from our in-class model but would enrich the realism of the model, should they be incorporated into it.
Remember to clearly cite your sources and share resources with classmates.
Managing the inventory at a store is but a small fraction of the larger picture of the supply network that consists of the producers of raw materials, the manufacturers of the refined commodity, any intermediate storage facilities for either the materials, intermediate stages of the products, or the final products themselves, and the methods of transport that move goods from one location to another.
Browse some additional scientific literature on supply networks and draw (either by hand or on a computer) your own diagram of the relevant elements you can identify and the relationships between those elements.
Remember to clearly cite all sources. Identify in particular any images you used as inspiration for your own diagram and any tools you used in preparing the diagram. It is crucial that you submit an original illustration that you prepared yourself, not a copy, a reproduction, or an adaptation of an existing illustration.