A review of the stochastic lot scheduling problem

This paper surveys the current research literature on the stochastic lot sc heduling problem which deals with scheduling production of multiple product s with random demand on a single facility with limited production capacity and significant change-overs between products. The deterministic version of this problem has received significant coverage in the literature; however, the stochastic problem has been addressed only recently. Furthermore, a ra nge of distinctly different analytical methods have been applied to this pr oblem. This paper provides a unifying framework for discussing these approa ches and offers some explanation and clarification of the different analyti cal methods for this problem. After discussing some of the modeling and man agerial implications of this problem, a detailed review of both continuous and discrete time control strategies is given, and areas for further resear ch are outlined. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.