An adjustment method for material inventory control decision considered in product life cycle

Corporate operation mainly targets at satisfying the needs of customers by providing products valuable for them. At different stages, product life cycle places different requirements upon the quantity of products. Product is made up of multiple types of materials, many of which must be procured or ordered from suppliers. To shorten the lead time and lower inventory control cost, enterprises have to make suitable decisions on inventory control methods. In the past, there were many inventory control methods developed, including fixed-order quantity method and contract buying method. However, there was little research discussing the adoption of suitable inventory control methods at different stages of product life cycle to cater to the changing demand quantities of customers. Therefore, the main purpose of this research lies in exploring the adjustment of material inventory control methods considering the different stages of product life cycle to be applied into practice in procurement, so as to shorten lead time and lower inventory control cost, and ultimately avoid occurrence of abnormal situations like scrap material, inactive material or suspension for shortage of materials. In addition, this research is also expected to provide reference for practice field.