A new model for the strategic management of inventories subject to peaks in market demand

This research work is aimed at analysing a production system under dynamic conditions. The focus is on determining the strategic inventory, defined as the minimum initial inventory level needed to fulfil a sudden peak of fini shed products demand, as well as the minimum allowed lapse of time between two consecutive peaks to avoid stockout. A background of theoretical result s and a comprehensive survey of the literature are provided, structured thr ough a classification framework. Furthermore a new model has been developed which explicitly considers production capacity limits. It actually represe nts the only nonlinear model throughout the research body of knowledge in t his field and, at the same time, it is characterised by an outstanding leve l of simplicity, which allows theoretical results in a closed analytic form , on behalf of the implementation in real-life manufacturing environments.