Simulation-Based Optimization for the Fast Fashion Replenishment

Fast fashion is a commercial pattern which provides fashionable clothes at affordable price.This mode needs rapid response supply chain to respond to varying fashion trends.New styles are introduced in every sale period to cover fashion trends.In order to maximize profits,replenishment quantity of each style should be decided in every period.The purchasing and replenishing process over multiple periods based on uncertainty customer demand is modeled,which is formulated by a stochastic choice process.Heterogeneous consumers visit a store in a stochastic sequence and choosing dynamically from the available fashion styles(buy or not buy) according to a utility maximization criterion.The purchase process in a retail shop for multi-period is simulated.An algorithm which combines simulated anneal(SA) with gradient estimation is proposed to find the optimal replenishing strategy from the simulation program.