A multi-phase matheuristic algorithm for the distribution network design problem of a spare-parts supply chain

Official URL: https://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b2486362 _(Table of contents)

After-sales services provide companies both financial and competitive advantages. However, operating distribution networks of after-sales service logistics systems are more challenging than traditional supply chain networks. Thus, establishing a costefficient network is an arduous task. It requires making critical decisions at both strategic and tactical levels. Facility location decisions are considered as strategic whereas the tactical level decisions include vehicle size, transshipment amount, service level and last-mile routes. We study a multi-period multi-commodity spareparts distribution network design problem. We propose a mixed integer linear programming problem formulation of the problem. To solve this combinatorial optimization problem in a reasonable time, a three-phase matheuristic involving variations of the original problem formulation is developed. We share and discuss our findings from a computational study