Seeking Inventory Control Answers Via Research. Incomplete Inventory Information: The Next Challenge In Inventory Control

Inventory control is one of the most important topics in management science. A systematic analysis of inventory problems began with the development of the classical Economic Order Quantity formula in 1913. Since then, an enormous amount of literature has accumulated on inventory control problems. One of the critical assumptions in this vast literature has been that the current level of inventory is fully observed. Some of the most celebrated results such as optimality of base-stock or (s,S) policies have been obtained under the assumption of full observation. Yet it is often the case in practice that the inventory level is only partially observed. Most of the well-known inventory policies are not only non-optimal, but also not usable in practice in partial observation environments.