OPTIMAL POLICIES FOR CAPACITY EXPANSION UNDER KNOWN DEMAND GROWTH

Abstract : The paper is concerned with optimal policies for a sequence of discrete capacity expansions in response to expected growth in demand over an arbitrary time interval. Demand refers to a single commodity. For each expansion, there are two decision variables: the size of the expansion and the time at which it occurs. Capacity expansion over time is a step function. Discounting is continuous. The problem is analogous to a class of inventory problems in which order quantities are substituted for capacity increases.