1. INTRODUCTION Managing the inventory is the major issue in supply chain management. It is the right area to be focused to increase the profit margin. In this study a (R, Q, k, t) replenishment policy is developed to reduce inventory in warehouse. This policy is evaluated with real time data from mineral water company B.Ramirez et.al (Ramirez, Espinnosa; 1997) successfully implemented a (R, s, Q, c) replenishment policy in a cardboard box marketing firm. This policy is evaluated by means of discrete event DEVELOPMENT OF A (R,Q,k,t) SINGLE ITEM INVENTORY REPLENISHMENT POLICY FOR WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT IN SUPPLY CHAIN -A CASE STUDY IN MINERALWATER COMPANY A.Mahamani a* , K. Prahlada Rao b and V. Pandurangadu c a Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering and Technology, India b JNTU College of Engineering, India c JNTU College of Engineering, Pulivandula, India (Received 07 August 2007; accepted 10 September 2007) Abstract In this paper, the case of a mineral water company is studied and a (R, Q, k, t) single item inventory replenishment policy is proposed and evaluated by means of excel spread sheet simulation in warehouse. The alternative replenishment policies are compared by changing the inventory to retailer demand ratio and inventory to demand forecast ratio values. The performance of the selected ordering policy is evaluated by using sensitivity analysis and stock out screening. The results revealed that the implementation of this policy can reduce the total investment and maximize the customer service, while maintaining the business efficiency. Keywords: supply chain, warehouse management, replenishment policy, Excel spread sheet simulation, inventory reduction * Corresponding author: mahamani_sudhan@yahoo.co.in Serbian Journal of Management Serbian Journal of Management 2 (2) (2007) 227 - 235 www.sjm.tf.bor.ac.yu