A Comparison of Several Dynamic Programming Models of the Made-to-Order Production Situation

"A Comparison of Several Dynamic Programming Models of the Made to-Order Production Situation," Operations Research Letters, Vol. 5 (1986), 87-92 (with N.K. Womer and M.M. Tarimcilar). This paper examines the relationships among several dynamic programming models of the made-to-order production situation. The models consider the impacts of both learning and production rate changes on optimal program costs. The comparisons among the models suggest that a type of economic duality links the solutions. The results of this research suggest a method of transformation which may provide a useful means for finding tractable solutions to similar dynamic programming problems.