Optimal Ordering Policies for Perishable Inventory—II

This paper deals with the problem of computing optimal ordering policies for a single product with a lifetime of exactly m periods. Costs are charged against ordering, holding, shortages, and out-dating. To take explicit account of the perishability, we substitute a cost to be incurred at the time of outdating. The functional equation approach of dynamic programming is used to extend this model to the multiperiod case, and the structure of optimal ordering policies is analyzed.