Designing a robust supply chain management based on distributers’ efficiency measurement

Abstract

An appropriate supply chain design helps survival in competitive markets. Achieving maximum efficiency may also help decision makers have a better selection for the supply chain network. The purpose of this paper is to design an efficient supply chain model in terms of the distribution channels under uncertain conditions. The proposed study produces multi products using different materials by considering four layers of multiple suppliers, producers, storages and customers. There are two objectives of maximizing efficiency of distributers and minimizing total cost of supply chain management. The proposed model locates producers as well as suppliers and determines the amount of orders from different suppliers. In order to measure the relative efficiency, the study uses the method developed by Klimberg and Ratick (2008) [Klimberg, R. K., & Ratick, S. J. (2008). Modeling data envelopment analysis (DEA) efficient location/allocation decisions. Computers & Operations Research, 35(2), 457-474.]. In addition, to handle the uncertainty, the study uses the robust optimization technique developed by Molvey and Ruszczyński (1995) [Mulvey, J. M., & Ruszczyński, A. (1995). A new scenario decomposition method for large-scale stochastic optimization. Operations research, 43(3), 477-490.]. The preliminary results indicate that the proposed model is capable of providing efficient solutions under various uncertain conditions.