TITLE:  Recent Advances in Centralized and Decentralized Multi-Location
Transshipment Problems

SPEAKER:  Dr. Michal Tzur

ABSTRACT:

The multi-location
replenishment and transshipment problem is concerned with several retailers
facing random demand for the same item at distinct markets, that may use
transshipments to eliminate excess inventory/shortages after demand
realization. For a centralized system we summarize recent advances related to
operational and design aspects of the problem. Our main focus in this talk is
on the decentralized system, in which the retailers operate to maximize their
own profit. This causes incentive problems that prevent coordination, even with
two retailers who may pay each other for transshipped units. We propose a new
mechanism based on a transshipment fund which is the first to coordinate the
system, in a fully non-cooperative setting, for all instances of two retailers
as well as all instances of any number of retailers. The computation and
information requirements of this mechanism are realistic and relatively modest.
We also present necessary and sufficient conditions for coordination and prove
they are always satisfied with our mechanism.

Bio:  

Michal Tzur is an Associate Professor in the Industrial Engineering
department at the Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University in Israel,
where she served as the head of the
undergraduate program and as the department chair. Michal joined Tel
Aviv University after spending three years at the Operations and Information
Management department at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She
received her B.A. from Tel Aviv University and her M. Phil and Ph.D. from Columbia University. During the years 2002-2004
she visited the IEMS department at Northwestern University. Her areas of
expertise are supply chain management, inventory routing and transportation.