Economic lot sizing problem with tank scheduling

We introduce a multiple-item economic lot sizing problem where items are produced through the fermentation of some raw materials. Fermentation takes place in specialized tanks that have finite capacities, and duration of the fermentation process is item dependent. When fermentation starts, the tanks are not available for the duration of the fermentation process. We analyze the complexity of this problem under various assumptions on the number of items and tanks. In particular, we show that several cases of the problem are (strongly) N P -hard, and we propose polynomial time algorithms to some single item cases. In addition, we propose a quick and simple heuristic approach for one of the multiple item cases. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper introduces a multiple-item economic lot sizing problem where items are produced through the fermentation of raw materials. The complexity of this problem is analyzed under various assumptions, and it is shown to be (strongly) N P-hard in several cases. Polynomial time algorithms are proposed for some single item cases, and a quick and simple heuristic approach is proposed for one of the multiple item cases.