On the flexibility of demand and production rate

In the manufacturing practice, cycle time is usually optimized in order to plan the batch size, and production time among other parameters. In certain situations, the production rate is decreased in order to have lower inventory levels or to deal with a shelf life constraint. This technical note examines the increase/decrease in the demand level along with a discussion concerning flexibility of the production rate. A generalized problem is also formulated in the context of the costs that are incurred in order to maintain certain demand level. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.