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IJLM 19,2

A review of inventory management research in major logistics journals

Themes and future directions
Brent D. Williams
Department of Marketing and Logistics, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA, and

212

Travis Tokar
The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business, Marketing and Logistics, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of inventory management articles published in major logistics outlets, identify themes from the literature and provide future direction for inventory management research to be published in logistics journals. Design/methodology/approach Articles published in major logistics articles, beginning in 1976, which contribute to the inventory management literature are reviewed and cataloged. The articles are segmented based on major themes extracted from the literature as well as key assumptions made by the particular inventory management model. Findings Two major themes are found to emerge from logistics research focused on inventory management. First, logistics researchers have focused considerable attention on integrating traditional logistics decisions, such as transportation and warehousing, with inventory management decisions, using traditional inventory control models. Second, logistics researchers have more recently focused on examining inventory management through collaborative models. Originality/value This paper catalogs the inventory management articles published in the major logistics journals, facilitates the awareness and appreciation of such work, and stands to guide future inventory management research by highlighting gaps and unexplored topics in the extant literature. Keywords Inventory management, Supply chain management, Research Paper type Literature review

The International Journal of Logistics Management Vol. 19 No. 2, 2008 pp. 212-232 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0957-4093 DOI 10.1108/09574090810895960

Introduction According to the 17th Annual State of Logistics Report (Wilson, 2006), business logistics cost as a percentage of US gross domestic product has grown to 9.5 percent, and of the over $1 trillion spent on logistics, approximately 33 percent can be attributed to the cost of holding inventory. Thus, inventory management research is critical and has long been central to several academic literatures. Researchers from multiple elds have published articles which advance the theory of inventory management. General reviews of this literature are sparse. This is likely due to the fact that such a large number of papers have been published over a lengthy span of time, making such a review a sizable task. Even within a given discipline, an overall review of recent inventory management research is not currently available. The lack of such resources is a handicap to the advancement of theory and practice in inventory management.

Without a clear reference for what has been accomplished, researchers have limited guidance in the development of future undertakings and managers must expend great effort in searching out solutions to practical problems. The goal of this paper is to begin the process of cataloging and reviewing inventory management research by examining work from the eld of logistics. Logistics researchers have made a unique and signicant contribution to inventory management theory, and a detailed examination of such work stands to produce increased awareness and appreciation of the contribution. Furthermore, it stands to facilitate the advancement of inventory theory by highlighting themes and identifying future research opportunities. Models of inventory management developed within the eld of logistics tend to incorporate issues not signicantly addressed in other elds. Two such issues are transportation and warehousing considerations. In addition to being of critical importance to efcient and effective inventory management, these issues have likely received such attention because they are central components of the logistics function. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) denes logistics management as:
[. . .] that part of supply chain management that plans, implements and controls the efcient, effective forward and reverse ow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and point of consumption in order to meet customers requirements (www.cscmp.org).

Inventory management research 213

The focus of logistics management on the ow and storage of goods and services has provided logistics researchers with a unique perspective on inventory management and has led to a signicant contribution to the inventory management literature. This paper seeks to highlight this contribution. Literature search This review focuses on inventory management articles published in the major logistics journals. This search was conducted in the following journals: International Journal of Logistics Management (IJLM), Journal of Business Logistics (JBL), Transportation Journal (TJ), Transportation Research Part E (TRE) and International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management (IJPDLM), which have the highest usage scores for peer-reviewed, logistics journals according to the recent ranking by Gibson and Hanna (2003)[1]. Relevant articles were examined and their details cataloged. In total, 62 articles are included in the review, and at least one article was identied from each journal. Findings from the search are chronologically presented in Table I, which contains the logistics outlet in which the article was published and a brief synopsis of the articles purpose. Included articles span the last 32 years, stretching back to 1976. For the rst 28 years of that time period, between 1976 and 1999, nearly all of the identied articles were published in Journal of Business Logistics (JBL). Only a handful of exceptions, seven in all, are observed. Four of those exceptions were published in or before 1978, the year in which JBL was established. These exceptions appeared in TJ, the IJPDLM, and TRE. Since the year 2000, the appearance of inventory management articles in logistics journals has become much more evenly dispersed. We begin to nd such articles regularly published in IJPDLM, TRE and IJLM in addition to JBL. This observation may reect a number of noteworthy issues such as changes in mission and focus of the included logistics journals or a change in preferred outlets for

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Author(s) TJ IJPDLM TJ TJ JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL IJPDLM TRE JBL JBL JBL JBL

Langley (1976) Maister (1976) Buffa and Reynolds (1977) Voorhees and Sharp (1978)

Buffa and Reynolds (1979) Langley (1980) Blumenfeld et al. (1985) Zinn and Bowersox (1988) Landeros and Lyth (1989) Larson (1989) Zinn et al. (1989)

Ronen (1990) Hsu and El-Najdawi (1991)

Mahmoud (1992) Evers and Beier (1993)

Masters (1993)

Tallon (1993) Whiteoak (1994) Evers (1995)

Caron and Marchet (1996)

Evers (1996) Tyworth et al. (1996)

Evers (1997)

Table I. Inventory management publications in major logistics journals Journal Purpose Evaluates the EOQ under conditions of uncertainty Argues that the square root law is applicable to safety and cycle stocks, when the EOQ is employed Extends the inventory model to include transport factors Describes four key inventory tradeoffs: service level, number of stocking locations, order cycle length and product proliferation, and advocates the necessity of discrete logistics management Develops a graphical model to illustrate inventory model relationships Examines the inclusion of transportation costs in an inventory-theoretic approach Evaluates the trade-off between transportation and inventory when shipping under uncertainty Presents a methodology to determine when postponement is justied Demonstrates the benet of cooperative buyer/seller relationships on lot-sizing Incorporates quality decisions into the EOQ framework Examines the percentage of reduction in aggregate safety stock due to centralization of locations (portfolio effect) Analyzes portfolio effect using fraction of demand supplied from stock as a measure of availability Investigates the effects of strategies which integrate various safety stock and lot-sizing combinations Extends the concept of the portfolio effect into the portfolio quantity effect end portfolio cost effect Extends the portfolio effect model by relaxing the assumptions of no lead time uncertainty and equivalent lead times Develops a stockage model to determine the amount end distribution of stock in a multi-tern, multi-echelon retail system Extends the portfolio effect model to the case where lead times are uncertain Discusses the factors which determine the level of stock held by both manufacturer and retailer Extends Evers and Beier (1993) by incorporating cycle stock into the particular portfolio effect model Considers the level of safety stock required in an independent and coupled two-echelon warehouse system Uses the portfolio effect model to evaluate the use of transshipments to reduce safety stock Presents a nonlinear programming approach to analyzing a continuous review system under gamma-demand and lead-time Considers the applicability of the portfolio effect to emergency transshipments (continued)

Author(s) JBL TRE JBL IJPDLM JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL IJPDLM IJPDLM IJPDLM IJLM IJLM TRE IJPDLM JBL JBL TRE TRE

Journal

Purpose

Evers and Beier (1998)

Needham and Evers (1998) Tyagi and Das (1998)

Namit and Chen (1999) Das and Tyagi (1999) Evers (1999)

Pfohl et al. (1999)

Waller et al. (1999)

Whipple et al. (1999)

Tyworth and Ganeshan (2000)

Perry and Sohal (2000) Kumar and Chandra (2002)

Frankel et al. (2002) Mejias-Sacaluga and Prado-Prado (2002) Dong and Xu (2002) Gupta (2003) Ballou (2005)

Compares the Tallon (1993) portfolio effect model with the Evers and Beier (1993) model and observes that a consolidation locations lead time signicantly affects safety stock savings Presents a method for determining the transshipment Indifference point Derives a method of allocating safety stock among centralized locations such that savings are maximized Develops an algorithm for solving the , Q,R . model with gamma lead-time demand Identies situations in which the portfolio effect is enhanced by partial centralization Evaluates the effect of transshipments and order splitting on inventory availability end drivers of total cost Introduces the statistical process control method for inventory management and presents empirical results of simulations Examines VMI through simulation to understand effects of key variables and assess robustness of the approach Provides a framework for determining how performance can be improved by better managing inbound supply relationships Demonstrates that a currently available approach for solving the , Q, r . inventory model for gamma lead-time demand does not require the use of tabulated values Identies in-house practices which enable quick response Develop heuristic ordering rules to manage multi-item inventories and replenishment schedules from a single vendor Uses case studies to illustrate successful collaboration in the grocery industry Analyzes the state of manufacturer-retailer relationships in an ECR setting

Rabinovich and Evers (2003) Khouja (2003) Mason et al. (2003)

Evaluates the effect of VMI on the prots of buyers and suppliers Finds EOQ and number of order placed under various practical conditions Compares a traditional inventory planning approach with one that crass-lls from multiple locations Studies mechanisms that enable the improvement of fulllment operations of online orders Formulates and solves a three-stage, multi-customer, non-serial, supply chain inventory model Explores potential advantages gained by integrating end simultaneously optimizing the performance of warehousing and transportation (continued)

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Table I.

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Author(s) IJDPLM IJDPLM TRE JBL JBL JBL JBL IJLM IJPDLM IJPDLM IJPDLM TRE IJLM IJPDLM TRE IJPDLM IJPDLM TRE TRE

Smaros et al. (2003)

Pohlen and Goldsby (2003) Disney et al. (2003) Angulo et al. (2004)

Ballou (2005) Rabinovich (2005)

Zinn and Charnes (2005) Beamon and Kotleba (2006) Huq et al. (2006)

Sezen (2006)

Verma (2006)

Waller et al. (2006)

Kaipia et al. (2006)

Mattsson (2007) Cardenas-Barron (2007)

Vigtil (2007) Sari (2007)

Dong et al., 2007) Yao and Dresner (2008)

Table I. Journal Purpose Examines how a manufacturer can combine shared information from VMI-customers with order data from non-VMI-customers to improve operational efciency Uses economic value added (EVA) analysis to demonstrate benet Investigates the impact of a VMI strategy upon transportation operations in a supply chain Examines the effects of using inaccurate inventory information and information delays in replenishment decisions in a VMI context Develops inventory turnover curves resulting from various inventory policies Considers joint performance effects from emergency transshipments and demand dispersion with a constant number of inventory facilities Compares EOQ and QR methods; proposes rules for selection of most appropriate method Compares methods of determining order quantities and reorder points under emergency conditions Demonstrates that a two warehouse N-retailer inventory replenishment system provides better customer service than a one-warehouse N-retailer replenishment system without signicant changes in the cost under certain circumstances Investigates the Impacts of changing the length of review period on the performance of a periodic review system under varying demand patterns Compares values obtained by mathematical model of base stock model and computer simulation values for three-tier supply chain with Poisson-demand Develops models to predict changes in retailers system-wide inventory levels as a result of cross-docking Investigates the connection between planning nervousness and the bullwhip effect in a VMI supply chain Revises existing inventory control models to be efciently used with short lead times Proposes an n-stage-multi-customer supply chain inventory model optimized using an algebraic approach Identies what types of demand data would be valuable to the supplier in a VMI relationship Explores the VMI performance Increase under different levels of outside supply capacity, demand uncertainty end lead time Examines the determinants of adoption of VMI Identies and compares the benets to manufacturers and retailers under CRP and VMI

researchers conducting inventory management research. This issue could be an interesting area of inquiry for logistics researchers. Findings would allow authors to understand where future inventory management research may best t into the body of logistics literature. Table I also reveals that the number of inventory management articles appearing per year in logistics journals has increased over the selected time span. Figure 1 shows this information graphically. (Note that while our discussion includes articles published through February 2008, Figure 1 only represents data through the last complete year in the sample set 2007). As can be seen, there has been a sizable increase in annual number of publications since the mid-1990s. In the 20 years between 1976 and 1995, 19 articles are identied in the review. This is an average of 0.95 articles per year. In the 12 years from 1996 and 2007, 42 articles are identied, producing an average of 3.5 articles per year. A Mann-Whitney U-test reveals the difference in articles published during these respective spans to be statistically signicant (n1 20, n2 12, U 200.5, z 3.13, p , 0.01). Uncovering and understanding the drivers of this recent increase could be an area of future research. Themes and future directions Integration of logistics activities and inventory control From the literature review of the major logistics journals, themes within this literature emerge and articles published in these outlets extend the inventory management literature in several respects. First, most of the less recent publications on inventory management in logistics journals focus on traditional inventory control models. These articles evaluate traditional inventory control models under particular conditions or incorporate additional considerations into established models.
9 8 7 Articles Published 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

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Year

Figure 1. Inventory management publications per year in major logistics journals

IJLM 19,2

In Table II, the articles identied from this stream are sorted according to the inventory control model(s) assumed by the author(s). From Table II, note that the majority of the articles reviewed (32) assume some type of reorder point method (Q, r). Of the 30 articles that assumed a reorder point method,

218

Author(s) Langley (1976) Maister (1976) Buffa and Reynolds (1977) Voorhees and Sharp (1978) Buffa and Reynolds (1979) Langley (1980) Zinn et al. (1989) Landeros and Lyth (1989) Larson (1989) Ronen (1990) Mahmoud (1992) Evers and Beier (1993) Tallon (1993) Evers (1995) Caron and Marchet (1996) Evers (1996) Tyworth et al. (1996) Evers (1997) Evers and Beier (1998) Needham and Evers (1998) Tyagi and Das (1998) Das and Tyagi (1999) Evers (1999) Namit and Chen (1999) Tyworth and Ganeshan (2000) Rabinovich and Evers (2003) Ballou and Burnetas (2003) Gupta (2003) Rabinovich (2005) Huq et al. (2006) Ballou (2005) Mattsson (2007) Beamon and Kotleba (2006) Mason et al. (2003) Blumenfeld et al. (1985) Sezen (2006) Waller et al. (2006) Masters (1993) Verma (2006) Kumar and Chandra (2002) Cardenas-Barron (2007) Khouja (2003)

Journal TJ IJPDLM TJ TJ JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL TRE JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL TRE JBL JBL JBL IJPDLM IJPDLM JBL JBL IJPDLM JBL IJPDLM JBL IJPDLM IJLM TRE JBL IJPDLM TRE JBL IJPDLM IJPDLM TRE TRE JBL JBL

Inventory model(s) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r) (Q, r), (S,T), stock-to-demand (Q, r), periodic review reorder point (Q, r), Silver-meal heuristic, (avg. lead time demand, r) (s, S) (S, T) (S, T) (S, T) Base stock Base stock Heuristic JIT JIT, integer multiple of cycle time, integer powers of two multiple of cycle time LFL, (Q, r), (S, T), PPA, UOQ Statistical process control

Table II. Inventory control policy assumption(s)

Hsu and El-Najdawi (1991) Pfohl et al. (1999)

18 assume an EOQ approach, 12 assume a reorder point where the order quantity is the expected demand during the lead time, and two assume a base stock policy. Several other articles (4) evaluate the EOQ approach as an inventory control policy in addition to other policies. The importance of the (Q, r) approach goes beyond a simple assumption about the inventory control mechanism. Much of the advance of inventory control by the earlier logistics publications is result of integrating additional logistics considerations into the inventory policy. The basic (Q, r) inventory control model introduced by Harris (1913) allows a rm to place orders of size Q, whenever its inventory position reaches a re-order point (r). The logistics literature has extended the (Q, r) approach in several respects. For example, authors have considered additional factors, such as transportation factors, buyer/seller relationships, quality considerations, short lead times and emergency conditions, among others (Beamon and Kotleba, 2006; Buffa and Reynolds, 1977; Landeros and Lyth, 1989; Langley, 1976, 1980; Larson, 1989; Mattsson, 2007), and have evaluated the approach under particular demand and lead-time distributions (Namit and Chen, 1999; Tyworth and Ganeshan, 2000; Tyworth et al., 1996). A second inventory control approach widely used in industry is the periodic review (S, T) control system. The (S, T) model, described by Hadley and Whitin (1963), controls inventory through ordering on pre-set review intervals (T). Upon reaching a review interval, an order is placed such that inventory position is brought to some up-to-level (S). While this approach is widely used, it has not been widely examined by the logistics literature. Only a few articles (Ballou, 2005; Blumenfeld et al., 1985; Hsu and El-Najdawi, 1991; Sezen, 2006) assume the periodic review system as either one of several policies or the sole inventory control policy. Only Blumenfeld et al. (1985) integrate multiple logistics considerations under this policy. In addition to integrating logistics considerations into established inventory control models, the logistics literature also develops and extends methods to reduce the amount of inventory that a rm must hold through warehousing decisions. A popular topic in the stream of warehousing and inventory considerations is the portfolio effect. This term refers to the reduction of aggregate safety stock that can be achieved through centralization of stocking locations. Since Zinn et al. (1989), the portfolio effect literature has proliferated. Some of the original assumptions of this model, including those of no lead time uncertainty and equivalent lead times, have been relaxed (Evers and Beier, 1993; Tallon, 1993). The portfolio effect is also used to evaluate the use of transshipments and emergency transshipments (Evers, 1996, 1997; Needham and Evers, 1998) and has also been enhanced by considering partial centralization (Das and Tyagi, 1999). In more recent logistics publications, such as Evers (1999) and Waller et al. (2006), researchers continue to focus on the integration of warehousing and inventory control by examining issues such as transshipment and cross-docking, respectively. Mason et al. (2003) further this literature by integrating and exploring the advantages of jointly optimizing transportation and warehousing considerations. Additionally, Thomas and Tyworth (2006) review the literature that examines risk pooling from a different perspective: splitting replenishment orders as a means to pool lead-time risk. Collaborative inventory management models Thus, far, the review indicates that logistics researchers have focused on integrating inventory control with other traditional logistics activities, namely transportation and

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220

warehousing. While this focus has produced both a contribution to the literature and the practice of inventory management, logistics research has seemingly evolved. Figure 2 shows the evolution of the inventory management research published in major logistics journals. Researchers in the eld of supply chain management tend to place focus on customer service (i.e. getting the right product to the right place at the right time). Stank et al. (2001, p. 40) suggest that collaboration, both internal and external, is key to improving a rms customer service because it allows coordination of operations across business entities. From an inventory control policy perspective, supply chain management researchers have begun to address questions regarding how collaboration across business entities may inuence a rms inventory policy decisions. Much of this advance has come through collaborative inventory management approaches, such as continuous replenishment planning (CRP), efcient consumer response (ECR), quick response (QR), and vendor managed inventory (VMI), which are designed to better match supply and demand processes and subsequently control inventory in the supply chain through external collaboration. CRP and VMI are very similar automatic replenishment programs, except that under a VMI partnership, the vendor makes the replenishment decisions. ECR and QR are programs specic to the grocery and apparel industries, respectively. Daugherty et al. (1999, p. 64) notes that the purpose of these collaborative programs is to make inventory commitment more efcient and that the basis for each of the programs is information sharing. Their study took an exploratory approach to examining involvement in automatic replenishment programs, while other authors focused on specic programs. Table III catalogues the articles published within the major logistics journals that focus on CRP, ECR, QR or VMI. From Table III, note that the logistics literature focused on collaborative inventory management has grown quickly since the introduction of the concept. Since 1994, 18
6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Articles Published

Figure 2. Traditional and collaborative inventory management publications

1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Year Traditional Collaborative

Author(s) Whiteoak (1994) Waller et al. (1999) Whipple et al. (1999) Perry and Sohal (2000) Frankel et al. (2002) Mejias-Sacaluga and Prado-Prado (2002) Dong and Xu (2002) Smaros et al. (2003) Pohlen and Goldsby (2003) Disney et al. (2003) Angulo et al. (2004) Zinn and Charnes (2005) Kaipia et al. (2006) Vigtil (2007) Sari (2007) Dong et al. (2007) Yao and Dresner (2008)

Journal IJPDLM JBL JBL IJPDLM IJLM IJLM TRE IJDPLM IJDPLM TRE JBL JBL IJLM IJPDLM IJPDLM TRE TRE

Model QR VMI ECR QR ECR ECR VMI VMI VMI VMI VMI QR VMI VMI VMI VMI CRP, VMI

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Table III. Collaborative inventory management models

publications in major logistics journals that explicitly focus on at least one the collaborative inventory management programs are found. Much of the advance thus far focuses on understanding the determinants and enablers of successful collaborative inventory relationships (Dong et al., 2007; Perry and Sohal, 2000; Waller et al., 1999; Whipple et al., 1999) and examining the benet of these programs to the supply chain entities (Dong and Xu, 2002; Pohlen and Goldsby, 2003; Sari, 2007; Yao and Dresner, 2008). Given the evolution of inventory management research in logistics journals to a collaborative focus, there seems to be a great opportunity for logistics researchers to blend an established approach with a new theme. From the review, it is apparent that logistics researchers have a history of effectively integrating logistics activities and decisions. As previously mentioned, logistics researchers have successfully integrated transportation, warehousing and inventory decisions in single entity settings. Under the collaborative paradigm of inventory management research, a similar opportunity for future research is available. Logistics researchers are positioned to again consider the integration of logistics activities such as transportation and warehousing with inventory control in a collaborative environment. To this point, the review indicates that collaborative inventory management models tend to focus on the inventory decisions made by rms participating in a collaborative program, such as CRP, ECR, QR and VMI. However, collaboration is a decision-making process that involves inter-dependent rms (House and Stank, 2001; Stefansson, 2006). This set of inter-dependent rms likely goes beyond just a manufacturer and retailer. Namely, carriers, distributors, wholesalers and logistic service providers may be important links in the set of inter-dependent rms that make up a supply chain and are important factors in effectively providing high levels of customer service while maintaining minimum levels of inventory. Thus, logistics researchers, in particular, are faced with the opportunity to incorporate these additional logistics factors into the collaborative inventory management literature.

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Assumptions in inventory management models As logistics researchers proceed with advancing the collaborative inventory management literature, the importance of two inventory modeling assumptions increase relative to single entity models. First, the models demand uncertainty assumption and the level of demand uncertainty assumed is key to understanding the benet of inventory programs that are founded on information sharing and second, the models assumption of how consumers respond to a stockout is also of greater importance. The discussion of these assumptions begins by examining the extant literature on the basis of each assumption. Categorization of the publications from Table II with respect to the assumptions provides an assessment of how logistics researchers have traditionally considered these factors. First, logistics researchers assumption regarding the nature of demand (deterministic or stochastic) in inventory control models is examined and attention then turns to the assumption regarding response to stockouts. The primary purpose of inventory is to serve as a buffer between supply and demand processes. Therefore, understanding the demand process is critical to both building an appropriate supply process and managing inventory. In general, the demand process is assumed to be either deterministic or stochastic. An assumption of deterministic demand indicates that the demand rate is considered to be known and constant, while an assumption of stochastic demand indicates that the demand rate is neither constant nor known (i.e. demand is changing over time). In Table IV, the catalogued publications are presented with respect to the authors assumption regarding the nature of demand. From Table IV, there is an indication that logistics researchers generally have an appreciation for the importance of modeling demand as stochastic. The majority of articles reviewed model demand as stochastic rather than deterministic. With regard to the models that currently assume demand as deterministic, there may be an opportunity for future research. As one might expect, models which assume deterministic demand are less complicated to model and less complex to solve. While the assumption of deterministic demand may be convenient and provide an initial starting point for an inventory management model, it may be detrimental to the external validity of the model. However, it is possible that researchers who develop analytical inventory control models with additional complexities may be unable to provide analytical solutions under conditions of uncertain demand. Thus, simulation modeling holds opportunity in this stream of research as one possible way in which researchers can begin to overcome complexities in analyzing situations of stochastic demand. There is much evidence that such research would be well received. Davis-Sramek and Fugate (2007) interview a number of visionaries within the eld of logistics and identify an overwhelming call from these individuals to further incorporate simulation modeling into logistics research. Further and more critical, the assumption of demand uncertainty plays an increasingly important role in the collaborative inventory management literature. As previously mentioned, the collaborative models catalogued in Table III are founded on the principle of information sharing. Ketzenberg et al. (2007) hypothesize that the value of information in inventory replenishment models is dependent upon the level of demand uncertainty assumed by the model. Thus, as the focus of inventory

Author(s) Buffa and Reynolds (1977) Landeros and Lyth (1989) Larson (1989) Pfohl et al. (1999) Gupta (2003) Khouja (2003) Sezen (2006) Cardenas-Barron (2007) Langley (1976) Maister (1976) Voorhees and Sharp (1978) Buffa and Reynolds (1979) Langley (1980) Blumenfeld et al. (1985) Zinn and Bowersox (1988) Zinn et al. (1989) Ronen (1990) Hsu and El-Najdawi (1991) Mahmoud (1992) Evers and Beier (1993) Masters (1993) Tallon (1993) Evers (1995) Caron and Marchet (1996) Evers (1996) Tyworth et al. (1996) Evers (1997) Evers and Beier (1998) Needham and Evers (1998) Tyagi and Das (1998) Namit and Chen (1999) Das and Tyagi (1999) Evers (1999) Tyworth and Ganeshan (2000) Kumar and Chandra (2002) Ballou and Burnetas (2003) Rabinovich and Evers (2003) Mason et al. (2003) Ballou (2005) Rabinovich (2005) Beamon and Kotleba (2006) Huq et al. (2006) Verma (2006) Waller et al. (2006) Mattsson (2007)

Journal TJ JBL JBL JBL IJPDLM TRE IJPDLM TRE TJ IJPDLM TJ JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL TRE JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL TRE JBL IJPDLM JBL JBL IJPDLM IJPDLM JBL JBL TRE JBL JBL IJLM IJPDLM IJPDLM TRE IJPDLM

Demand assumption Deterministic Deterministic Deterministic Deterministic Deterministic Deterministic Deterministic Deterministic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic Stochastic

Inventory management research 223

Table IV. Demand assumption

management is more focused on collaborative arrangements and decision making, the models demand uncertainty assumption and level of uncertainty assumed becomes more important to the value that information sharing based inventory management programs provide.

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In addition to the increased importance of the assumption of demand uncertainty, the review also examines the importance of the assumption regarding stockout response. The occurrence of a stockout generally may be modeled in one of two ways: backorder (backlog) or lost sale. When an entity within the supply chain is unable to fulll customer demand from on-hand inventory, the demand is either backordered, meaning that the demand will be fullled in the future when on-hand inventory becomes available, or the demand is lost, meaning that the demand will not be fullled. For a given inventory control model, the stockout assumption is of importance in terms of the models application and relevance to various supply chain echelons. Note that many models, including the basic EOQ model developed by Harris (1913), assume that all stockouts are backordered. While this assumption is certainly valid in some cases, it is unrealistic in others and over-simplied. For example, when modeling upstream echelons, such as factories or distribution centers, it is highly likely that unfullled demand will be backordered and fullled at a later time. However, the reaction to stockouts at the retail store echelon is generally quite different. Field studies of consumer response to retail stockouts nd that shoppers tend to substitute with another product or search elsewhere for the desired product much more often than delaying their purchase (Zinn and Liu, 2001). Gruen et al. (2002) nd the following consumer responses to stockouts: 31 percent buy item at another store, 26 percent substitute different brand, 19 percent substitute same brand, 15 percent delay purchase, and 9 per cent do not purchase item. From the retailers perspective, a backorder only occurs in 15 percent of the cases where the consumer experiences a stockout. In Table V, the articles catalogued in Table II are presented with respect to the authors stockout assumption(s). The review of the literature reveals that a large number of models have been developed using both forms of the stockout assumption; however there is a greater number that assume backlogs as opposed to lost sales. There are also several papers that either do not allow stockouts or where stockouts are not possible (i.e. demand and lead time are both assumed to be deterministic). Furthermore, a number of papers did not specify the stockout assumption employed. While it is well-known that at high ll rates an inventory models stockout assumption does not make a large impact on the level of inventory necessary to achieve customer service targets (Tersine, 1994), the stockout assumption may be of increased importance in the collaborative inventory management paradigm, as is the assumption of demand uncertainty. As the supply chain transitions toward managing inventory under collaborative programs, there exists a need and opportunity to model the stockout phenomena more completely, particularly at the retail store echelon. Given the ndings of Gruen et al. (2002), we know that the consumers response to stockouts at the retail store is more complex than backorder or lost sale. Gruen et al. (2002) nds that in the presence of a stockout, consumers purchase a substitute product in almost half of the cases. Thus, category management practices of a retailer may have large implications on the rms inventory management. For example, consider the scenario where the retailer is managing the inventory management process and how consumer response to stockouts may impact how the retailer manages the level of inventory. If products within a category are highly

Author(s) Langley (1980) Larson (1989) Evers (1996) Langley (1976) Beamon and Kotleba (2006) Needham and Evers (1998) Namit and Chen (1999) Tyworth and Ganeshan (2000) Ballou (2005) Verma (2006) Pfohl et al. (1999) Rabinovich and Evers (2003) Rabinovich (2005) Mason et al. (2003) Waller et al. (2006) Ronen (1990) Ballou and Burnetas (2003) Zinn and Bowersox (1988) Hsu and El-Najdawi (1991) Evers (1997) Buffa and Reynolds (1977) Kumar and Chandra (2002) Sezen (2006) Evers (1999) Buffa and Reynolds (1979) Masters (1993) Tyworth et al. (1996) Blumenfeld et al. (1985) Huq et al. (2006) Landeros and Lyth (1989) Gupta (2003) Khouja (2003) Cardenas-Barron (2007) Maister (1976) Voorhees and Sharp (1978) Zinn et al. (1989) Mahmoud (1992) Evers and Beier (1993) Tallon (1993) Evers (1995) Caron and Marchet (1996) Evers and Beier (1998) Tyagi and Das (1998) Mattsson (2007) Das and Tyagi (1999)

Journal JBL JBL JBL TJ IJLM TRE IJPDLM IJPDLM JBL IJPDLM JBL JBL JBL TRE TRE JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL TJ IJPDLM IJPDLM JBL JBL JBL JBL JBL IJPDLM JBL IJPDLM TRE TRE IJPDLM TJ JBL JBL JBL JBL TRE JBL JBL JBL IJPDLM JBL

Stockout assumption Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders Backorders and lost sales Backorders and lost sales Lost sales Lost sales Lost sales Lost sales Lost sales Lost sales Lost sales Lost sales (store) Backorders (warehouse) Lost sales (store) backorders (warehouse) Lost sales (store) Backorders (warehouse) None allowed None allowed None allowed None possible None possible None possible None possible Not specied Not specied Not specied Not specied Not specied Not specied Not specied Not specied Not specied Not specied Not specied

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Table V. Stockout assumption(s)

substitutable, retailers may pool the variability in demand across substitute products to reduce category inventory levels without experiencing increased stockouts. While such models may be difcult to formulate, logistics researchers are positioned to extend the inventory management literature by possibly using the portfolio effect

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framework to incorporate the effects of product substitution and category management into the retailers inventory management model. Also, consider the effect of consumer response to stockouts when the manufacturer is managing the inventory management process, such as in a VMI relationship. Depending on how consumers respond to stockout within particular categories, the manufacturer may lower or raise the supply chains inventory level. If substitution within brand is high, then the manufacturer may lower the total amount of brand inventory held in the supply chain. However, if substitution to other brands is high, then the manufacturer may elect to raise the total amount of inventory held in the supply chain. Given these scenarios, the stockout assumption is increasingly important to collaborative inventory management models. However, an appreciation of this in the collaborative inventory management models catalogued in Table III is not apparent. There has not been advance in considering response to stockouts in the collaborative inventory management literature beyond assuming backorders or lost sales. Thus, a particularly important opportunity for future research exists. Conclusions and future research opportunities The review of the inventory management literature published in top logistics journals, indicates that logistics researchers have made a signicant contribution to the expansive body of inventory management literature. The literature has primarily followed two major themes: (1) integrating traditional logistics activities into models of inventory control; and (2) collaborative inventory management. The rst theme focuses on evaluating the trade-offs between transportation, warehousing and inventory management, primarily through analytical and simulation models. To model these trade-offs, researchers must rst make an assumption regarding the inventory control policy in place. A large number of inventory management models assume the use of an (Q, r) approach, and relatively little attention has been given to periodic review (S, T) inventory control models in the logistics literature. Table II shows that only seven consider periodic review as an inventory control policy. The second theme focuses on how collaborative inventory programs can make inventory commitment more efcient and improve customer service. In a recent examination of the future of the discipline of logistics and logistics research, Davis-Sramek and Fugate (2007) uncovered that leading discipline visionaries feel that one area in which logistics researchers must focus is coordination and collaboration, and subsequently, the inventory management literature published in logistics journals has evolved in recent years in that direction. Collaborative programs, such as CRP, ECR, QR and VMI, have become popular research topics in the logistics literature. Upon reviewing and categorizing the extant inventory management literature published in the major logistics journals into the above mentioned themes, several opportunities for logistics researchers to make further contribution to the literature were identied. First, the inventory management literature can be enhanced by applying the approach taken to incorporate additional logistics activities into inventory decisions to the more recent collaborative inventory models. Additional

considerations that fall within the logistics function can be integrated into the existing collaborative models. Second, a focus on two model assumptions: (1) demand uncertainty; and (2) stockout response may provide opportunity to extend the collaborative inventory management models. Given that collaborative models are based on information sharing, the assumption of stochastic demand becomes increasingly important as inventory management models evolve. Also, the simple stockout assumption of backorders or lost sales may not be adequate under a collaborative inventory management program. Next, the review indicates that little attention has been given to hybrid inventory management models in the logistics literature. While the logistics literature does address the (Q, r) and, to a lesser extent, the (S, T ) model, it fails to recognize adaptations of these models that are widely used in practice, particularly in retailing. While many rms employ systems that are capable of constantly monitoring inventory levels, it is most likely impractical and uneconomical for a rm to place an order at any point in time. Constraints, such as transportation policies (i.e. milk routes or truckload requirements), minimum order quantities, and case pack quantities, among others, affect the ordering policies. Often, retailers use a hybrid of the (Q, r) and (S, T) models, where both a reorder point and xed review point are used. Although this type of inventory policy is more difcult to model than are the (Q, r) and (S, T) models due to the additional variables to be considered, there is remaining opportunity in examining hybrid replenishment models. In particular, comparisons can be drawn to the (Q, r) and (S, T) models, and the integration of traditional logistics activities with replenishment decisions within the auspices of a hybrid model can be examined. Another research opportunity currently undeveloped in the inventory management literature involves the manner in which inventory models consider the retail store. The current literature considers the retail store as a single inventory holding location. However, as Angulo et al. (2004) note, inventory may be held in the retail store in multiple locations (i.e. backroom and shelf). While again more difcult to model, this distinction may become more important as retail supply chain technology and associated information sharing improves. The recent adoption of radio frequency identication (RFID) technology by large retailers is an example of such technological improvement. The adoption of RFID in the retail supply chain provides the potential to capture substantially more granular inventory information within the store. For example, visibility throughout the supply chain to backroom and shelf inventory levels is possible, and inventory models must be adapted by researchers to take advantage of such additional information. Given that technological advancement, such as RFID, and collaborative programs, such as CRP and VMI, provide additional information to better manage inventory levels, there exists an opportunity for logistics researchers to develop business processes through which the additional information can be effectively utilized to improve decision-making. Collaborative inventory management programs, such as VMI, have been more difcult to implement than was originally thought, and that the lack implementation success may be due to the absence of business processes to integrate the additional information provided through such programs into decision-making processes (Angulo et al., 2004). Further, Pohlen and Goldsby (2003)

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suggest that there also remains substantial opportunity in determining the effects of information availability made possible through collaborative inventory management programs. The authors call for additional empirical and case study analysis to better determine how the additional inventory availability affects decision making and whether or not it ultimately affects shareholder value. Additionally, there exists an opportunity for logistics researchers to extend the inventory management literature by furthering the understanding of relationships between supply chain partners managing inventory through collaborative programs, such CRP and VMI. To facilitate this research opportunity, Whipple and Russell (2007) propose a typology of three types of collaborative relationships. Logistics researchers can use this typology to evaluate the collaborative structures of rms that collaborate on inventory management and compare the performance of these relationships. Lastly, an area of future research that may provide benet to inventory management is the incorporation of behavioral issues in new and existing models. Inventory management models and logistics-related business activities in general, do not adequately account for behavioral issues and the judgment and decision making of managers. As a result, the predictive accuracy of such models may be constrained. To integrate behavioral issues into inventory control models, researchers must begin to examine the behavioral assumptions employed by such models through empirical tests of those assumptions and then incorporate ndings back into the models. Signicant contribution would likely be made in many areas of inventory control, but replenishment management, which often involves a high degree of human judgment and decision making, and models of collaborative supply chain relationships would likely realize signicant benets.
Note 1. The IJPDLM was formerly known as the International Journal of Physical Distribution and TRE was formerly known as The Logistics and Transportation Review. In the tables and discussion, all articles are credited to journals as they are currently titled. This is done to facilitate an appreciation of the contribution made over time by each of the surveyed journals. References Angulo, A., Nachtmann, H. and Waller, M.A. (2004), Supply chain information sharing in a vendor managed inventory partnership, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 101-20. Ballou, R.H. (2005), Expressing inventory control policy in the turnover curve, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 26 No. 2, p. 143164. Ballou, R.H. and Burnetas, A. (2003), Planning multiple location inventories, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 65-89. Beamon, B.M. and Kotleba, S.A. (2006), Inventory management support systems for emergency humanitarian relief operations in south Sudan, The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 187-212. Blumenfeld, D.E., Hall, R.W. and Jordan, W.C. (1985), Trade-off between freight expediting and safety stock inventory costs, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 79-101. Buffa, F.P. and Reynolds, J.I. (1977), The inventory-transport model with sensitivity analysis by indifference curves, Transportation Journal, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 83-90.

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Hsu, J.I. and El-Najdawi, M.K. (1991), Integrating safety stock and lot-sizing policies for multi-stage inventory systems under certainty, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 221-38. Huq, F., Cutright, K., Jones, V. and Hensler, D. (2006), Simulation study of a two-level warehouse inventory replenishment system, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 51-65. Kaipia, R., Korhonen, H. and Hartiala, H. (2006), Planning nervousness in a demand supply network: an empirical study, International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 17 No. 1. Ketzenberg, M., Rosenzweig, E., Marucheck, A. and Metters, R. (2007), A framework for the value of information in inventory replenishment, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 182, pp. 1230-50. Khouja, M. (2003), Optimizing inventory decisions in a multi-stage multi-customer supply chain, Transportation Research Part E, Vol. 39, pp. 193-208. Kumar, S. and Chandra, C. (2002), Managing multi-item common vendor inventory system with random demands, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 188-203. Landeros, R. and Lyth, D.M. (1989), Economic lot-size models for cooperative inter-organizational relationships, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 146-58. Langley, C.J. Jr (1976), Determination of the economic order quantity under the condition of uncertainty, Transportation Journal, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 85-92. Langley, C.J. Jr (1980), The inclusion of transportation costs in inventory models: some considerations, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 106-25. Larson, P.D. (1989), The integration of inventory and quality decisions in logistics: an analytical approach, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 106-22. Mahmoud, M.M. (1992), Optimal inventory consolidation schemes: a portfolio effects analysis, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 193-214. Maister, D.H. (1976), Centralisation of inventories and the square root law, International Journal of Physical Distribution, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 124-34. Mason, S.J., Ribera, P.M., Farris, J.A. and Kirk, R.G. (2003), Integrating the warehousing and transportation functions of the supply chain, Transportation Research Part E, Vol. 39, pp. 141-59. Masters, J.M. (1993), Determination of near optimal stock levels for multi-echelon distribution inventories, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 165-95. Mattsson, S-A. (2007), Inventory control in environments with short lead times, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 37 No. 2, pp. 115-30. Mejias-Sacaluga, A. and Prado-Prado, J.C. (2002), Integrated logistics management in the grocery supply chain, International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 67-78. Namit, K. and Chen, J. (1999), Solutions to the , Q,r . inventory model for gamma lead-time demand, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 138-52. Needham, P.M. and Evers, P.T. (1998), The inuence of individual cost factors on the use of emergency transshipments, Transportation Research Part E: (Logistics and Transportation Review), Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 149-60. Perry, M. and Sohal, A.S. (2000), Quick response practices and technologies in developing supply chains a case study, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 30 No. 7, pp. 627-39.

 Pfohl, H-C., Cullmann, O. and Stolzle, W. (1999), Inventory management with statistical process control: simulation and evaluation, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 101-20. Pohlen, T.L. and Goldsby, T.J. (2003), VMI and SMI programs: how economic value added can help sell the change, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 33 No. 7, pp. 565-81. Rabinovich, E. (2005), Consumer direct fulllment performance in internet retailing: emergency transshipments and demand dispersion, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 79-112. Rabinovich, E. and Evers, P.T. (2003), Product fulllment in supply chains supporting internet-retailing operations, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 205-36. Ronen, D. (1990), Inventory centralization/decentralization the square root law revisited again, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 129-38. Sari, K. (2007), Exploring the benets of vendor managed inventory, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 37 No. 7. Sezen, B. (2006), Changes in performance under various lengths of review periods in a periodic review inventory control system with lost sales, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 36 No. 5, pp. 360-73. Smaros, J., Lehtonen, J., Appelqvist, P. and Holmstrom, J. (2003), The impact of increasing demand visibility on production and inventory control efciency, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 336-52. Stank, T.P., Keller, S.B. and Daugherty, P.J. (2001), Supply chain collaboration and logistical service performance, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 29-48. Stefansson, G. (2006), Collaborative logistics management and the role of third-party service providers, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 76-92. Tallon, W.J. (1993), The impact of inventory centralization on aggregate safety stock: the variable supply lead time case, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 185-203. Tersine, R. (1994), Principles of Inventory and Materials Management, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Thomas, D. and Tyworth, J. (2006), Pooling lead-time risk by order splitting: a critical review, Transportation Research: Part E, Vol. 42, pp. 245-57. Tyagi, R. and Das, C. (1998), Extension of the square root law for safety stock to demands with unequal variances, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 197-203. Tyworth, J.E. and Ganeshan, R. (2000), A note on solutions to the , Q,r . inventory model for gamma lead-time demand, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 534-40. Tyworth, J.E., Guo, Y. and Ganeshan, R. (1996), Inventory control under gamma demand and random lead time, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 291-304. Verma, A.K. (2006), Improving agility of supply chains using base stock model and computer based simulations, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 36 No. 6, pp. 445-54. Vigtil, A. (2007), Information exchange in vendor managed inventory, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 37 No. 2, pp. 131-47. Voorhees, R.D. and Sharp, M.K. (1978), The principles of logistics revisited, Transportation Journal, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 69-84.

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Waller, M.A., Cassady, C.R. and Ozment, J. (2006), Impact of cross-docking on inventory in a decentralized retail supply chain, Transportation Research Part E, Vol. 42 No. 5, pp. 359-82. Waller, M.A., Johnson, M.E. and Davis, T. (1999), Vendor-managed inventory in the retail supply chain, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 183-203. Whipple, J. and Russell, D. (2007), Building supply chain collaboration: a typology of collaborative approaches, International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 174-96. Whipple, J., Frankel, R. and Anselmi, K. (1999), The effect of governance structures on performance: a case study on efcient consumer response, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 43-62. Whiteoak, P. (1994), The realities of quick response in the grocery sector: a supplier viewpoint, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 24 No. 10, pp. 33-9. Wilson, R. (2006), 17th Annual State of Logistics Report, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, Lombard, IL. Yao, Y. and Dresner, M. (2008), The inventory value of information sharing, continuous replenishment, and vendor-managed inventory, Transportation Research: Part E, Vol. 44 No. 3, pp. 361-78. Zinn, W. and Bowersox, D.J. (1988), Planning physical distribution with the principle of postponement, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 117-36. Zinn, W. and Charnes, J.M. (2005), A comparison of the economic order quantity and quick response inventory replenishment methods, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 119-41. Zinn, W. and Liu, P.C. (2001), Consumer response to retail stockouts, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 49-71. Zinn, W., Levy, M. and Bowersox, D.J. (1989), Measuring the effect of inventory centralization/decentralization on aggregate safety stock: the square root law revisited, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 1-14. About the authors Brent D. Williams is a Distinguished Doctoral Fellow at the University of Arkansas in the Sam M. Walton College of Business and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Marketing and Logistics. He earned a Master of Transportation and Logistics Management at the University of Arkansas and an undergraduate degree in Economics at Lyon College. His research interests include retail logistics and supply chain management, and he has published articles in the International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management. Travis Tokar is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Logistics in the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. His research focuses on managerial decision making in logistics, particularly in replenishment. He holds BS, MTLM, and PhD degrees from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

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