Heuristic algorithms for a supply chain network design problem in dairy industry

Abstract

We consider a multi-level supply chain network design problem in perspective of dairy industry. The problem is to determine, the location, allocation and quantity flow between dairy supply chain facilities, along with the objective of minimizing the total cost. In this research, we introduced a mixed integer linear programming model for multi-level supply chain network, considering the supply chain structure of dairy industry. We developed two heuristic algorithms to solve the problem. For the evaluation of the performance of the heuristics, the suggested heuristic algorithms are compared with optimal solutions. Results of tests on a number of problem instances show that the proposed heuristic algorithms are efficient and provide good solutions.