Economic Disposal Quantity of Leftovers kept in storage: a Monte Carlo simulation method

• Main Authors: Assis R., Marques P. Carmona, Santos J. Oliveira, Vidal R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 2019-10-01
• Series: Open Engineering
• Subjects: decision-making; economical optimization; monte-carlo simulation; stochastic process
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/eng-2019-0062

This article describes how to reach an item’s threshold, or in other words, the limit time for it to be retrieved from stock and sold for a different use, as well as the remaining foreseen period for this situation to occur. Once a minimum length, or weight, is reached, left quantities are more difficult to sell, as demand often exceeds the remaining parts or leftovers. The number of unfulfilled orders increases, as time goes by, until it becomes further cost effective to dispose the leftover and sell it for a lower price and alternative use. A Monte Carlo simulation model was built in order to consider the randomness of future transactions and quantifying consequences providing this way a simple and effective decision-making framework.