Blood is collected for medical purposes at various sites (such as mobile units), tested, separated into components, and shipped to a hospital blood bank. Each bank holds the components in inventory and issues them as needed to satisfy transfusion requests. There are eight major types of blood and each type has many components (such as red cells, white cells, and plasma). Each component has a different medical purpose and a different lifetime.

For example, the lifetime for white cells is only 6 hours, but the lifetime for red cells is now 42 days. What type of management issues are involved in this particular type of inventory management situation? (Discuss from strategic, tactical, and operational perspectives.) Does perishability require different records than for other situations? How? LO2