A supply chain should be operated in the most efficient way in a highly competitive environment, with the goals of cost minimization, shipment delays, inventories and expenditures, and distribution maximization, gain, return on investment, level of customer support, and efficiency. The development of supply-chain distribution networks is therefore an extremely complex task, due to the large physical production and distribution network flows, the uncertainties associated with external interface customers and suppliers as well as the non-linear dynamics linked to internal information flows. This study aims to address a problem in domestic distribution in a supply chain system that includes manufacturers, distribution centers and consumer zones to determine the optimum configuration of the network. We propose a mixed integer linear programming model to solve the problem.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.