Research from Jindal School Could Introduce New Innovations in Inventory Management

Professors at the University of Texas at Dallas – Naveen Jindal School of Management have recently published an important study applying a new mathematical model to issues in inventory management.

Professor Dr. Suresh Sethi, along with Dr. Alain Benssousan and Dr. Metin Cakanyildirim, have recently published research which seeks to correct inaccuracies in inventory, often caused by unrecorded issues in spoilage, damage or theft. “Although companies employ technologies to keep records of their inventories, these technologies are run by people, and people make mistakes,” said Dr. Cakanyildirim, professor of operations research. “Even if you employed the most expensive technology, it may not actually bring in the financial returns that you expect.”

Dr. Sethi is the Jindal School’s Chair of operations management, and has been studying inventory management for many years. He emphasizes the sheer amount of money- millions and millions of dollars in profit- that can be lost due to inaccurate inventory reporting.

Sethi, Benssousan and Cakanyildirim are developing a new model which could help rethink the way businesses look at inventory management. However, since companies are typically motivated by minimizing profit losses, and the model has not yet demonstrated provable benefits, implementation is going to require businesses to think outside of their current practice.

The professors hope to connect with a business in order to implement their ideas and find demonstrable results in savings. “Sometimes people don’t recognize when there are better ways of managing inventory,” Cakanyildirim says. “What is required is to go into a company and assess the benefit as well as the cost of implementing the new model.
The research is further assisted by co-author Dr. Meng Li PhD’13. Research from Dr. Bensoussan, professor of risk and decision analysis, was supported by the Research Grants Council of HKSAR. Additional research was funded thanks to generous grants from the Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program and National Science Foundation.

regions: Dallas

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