Sliding mode control of inventory management systems with bounded batch size

In this paper, variable structure control of discrete time systems is considered and the idea of reaching law based sliding mode control is presented. Then the idea is applied to design a control strategy for a class of supply chains with multiple suppliers. In the considered inventory management systems, goods are delivered to a single warehouse with limited capacity. Suppliers themselves have finite manufacturing capabilities, but are also not willing to accept orders of negligible size. The reaching law proposed for such systems ensures full satisfaction of the unpredictable consumers’ demand while adhering to state and input constraints.