Interval type-2 fuzzy modelling and stochastic search for real-world inventory management

Miller, Simon; Gongora, Mario; Garibaldi, Jon; John, Robert

Abstract

Real-world systems present a variety of challenges to the modeller, not least of which is the problem of uncertainty inherent in their operation. In this research, an interval type-2 fuzzy model is applied to a real-world problem, the goal being to discover a suitable optimisation configuration to enable a search for an inventory plan using the model. To this end, a series of simulated annealing configurations and the interval type-2 fuzzy model were used to search for appropriate inventory plans for a large-scale real-world problem. A further set of tests were conducted in which the performance of the interval type-2 fuzzy model was compared with a corresponding type-1 fuzzy model. In these tests the results were inconclusive, though, as will be discussed there are many ways in which type-2 fuzzy logic can be exploited to demonstrate its advantages over a type-1 approach. To conclude, in this research we have shown that a combination of interval type-2 fuzzy logic and simulated annealing is a logical choice for inventory management modelling and inventory plan search, and propose that the benefits that a type-2 model offers, can make it preferable to a corresponding type-1 system.

Citation

Miller, S., Gongora, M., Garibaldi, J., & John, R. (2012). Interval type-2 fuzzy modelling and stochastic search for real-world inventory management. Soft Computing, 16(8), 1447-1459. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-012-0848-y

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Apr 8, 2012
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Dec 7, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 7, 2014
• Journal: Soft Computing
• Print ISSN: 1432-7643
• Electronic ISSN: 1433-7479
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1447-1459
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-012-0848-y
• Keywords: Interval type-2 fuzzy logic; Real-world inventory management; Simulated annealing
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1008975
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00500-012-0848-y
• Additional Information: The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00500-012-0848-y