The availability of empty containers at terminals is essential to initiate shipments, so shipping companies must maintain appropriate inventory across the network while minimizing unnecessary repositioning. Traditionally, a double-threshold strategy is used, triggering repositioning when inventory levels fall below a lower threshold or exceed an upper threshold. However, this can lead to unnecessary repositioning caused by short-term fluctuations. This paper proposes a modified double-threshold strategy that incorporates elements of the (s, S) policy by introducing target levels for both imports and exports at each terminal. Instead of repositioning strictly to thresholds, containers are repositioned up to or down to these target levels once thresholds are crossed. To evaluate this approach, a stochastic simulation-based optimization model is developed for repositioning 40-foot general-purpose (ISO 42GP) containers across a multiterminal hinterland system. The model generates supply and demand of empty containers based on given distribution and applies a discrete time simulation (DTS) to simulate repositioning decisions made by the shipping line. A Simulated Annealing algorithm is used to optimize inventory control variables with the objective of minimizing total cost. Experimental results show that a modified approach can reduce total costs by up to 20% compared to the traditional double-threshold policy. These findings suggest that (s, S) inspired policies can be effectively adapted to inventory systems with reverse logistics flows, such as empty container repositioning (ECR).