A Forward-Reverse Repairable Spare Part Network Considering Inventory Management

Production continuation highly depends on maintenance and repair operations that justify supporting the supply of spare parts for these purposes, especially in strategic industries. The integration of forward and reverse spare part logistics network can help optimize total costs. In this paper, a mathematical model is presented for designing and planning an integrated forward-reverse repairable spare parts supply chain (RSPSC) to make optimal decisions. The model considers the uncertainty in demand during the lead-time and the optimal assignment of repairable equipment. A METRIC (Multi-Echelon Technique for recoverable Item Control) model is integrated into the forward-reverse supply chain to handle inventory management decisions. A case study of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is presented to validate the model. The non-linear constraints are linearized by using a linearization technique; then the model is solved by an iterative procedure in GAMS. A prominent outcome of the analyses shows that the same policies for repair and purchase of all the equipment and spare parts do not result in optimal solutions. Also, considering all the supply, repair, and inventory management decisions help decision-makers enhance the supply chain's performance by applying well-balanced repairing and purchasing policies.