A constrained multi-products EPQ inventory model with discrete delivery order and lot size

This paper proposes an alternative heuristic algorithm for a multi-product Economic
Production Quantity (EPQ) vendor–buyer integrated model with Just in Time (JIT)
philosophy and a budget constraint. This type of problem is usually solved by a Mixed
Integer Non Linear Problem (MINLP), which is complex and computationally expensive.
The proposed heuristic algorithm involves less computation and therefore it is less
expensive than the previously published algorithms. Furthermore, the heuristic algorithm
is simpler as it derives the integer values for all discrete variables in a straightforward
manner. Through empirical experimentation, it is demonstrated that the heuristic
algorithm provides solutions closer to the lower bound in a very short time.