Dear All,
We are pleased to invite you to the IEOR Seminar by Prof. Manikandan Rangaswamy on 09 February 2026 (Monday).
Title: Equilibrium, Pricing, and Social Welfare in Observable and Unobservable Queueing–Inventory Systems with Optional Service
Speaker: Manikandan Rangaswamy, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics , Central University of Kerala (CUK), Kasaragod,
Date and time: Monday, 9th Feb 2026, 4pm
Venue: Seminar room, 2nd floor, IEOR building, IE 211
Abstract: This talk examines a single-server queueing–inventory system under an (s,S) ordering policy in which customers strategically choose between waiting for a processed item with positive service and lead times or instantly obtaining an unprocessed item from excess inventory. Customers observe the system state upon arrival and follow threshold-based strategies, with Poisson arrivals and exponential service and lead times. Blocking arrivals when inventory is depleted yields a tractable steady-state distribution. We characterize the Nash equilibrium of customer behavior, develop optimal pricing policies to maximize revenue, and examine social optimality under different information regimes. Inefficiencies due to strategic behavior are quantified using the Price of Anarchy and the Price of Conservatism, supported by numerical experiments illustrating the impact of system parameters.
Short Bio: Manikandan Rangaswamy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Central University of Kerala (CUK), Kasaragod, where he has been serving since December 2015. He is currently an INSA Visiting Scientist at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay during January–February 2026. He previously held a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and has also served as a Visiting Scientist at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Bengaluru Center. Manikandan earned his PhD in Mathematics from Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT). His research interests are in Applied Probability and Stochastic Operations Research, with a focus on stochastic modelling and analysis of queueing, reliability, and storage systems, stochastic games in queues, and telecommunication networks.
Host: N. Hemachandra