A Multi-Objective Optimization Model for Designing a Humanitarian Logistics Network under Service Sharing and Accident Risk Concerns under Uncertainty

Abstract

A multi-objective mathematical model is proposed to design a humanitarian logistics network under an uncertain condition. Three objective functions are considered to formulate this problem, where the first one is to minimize the total costs of logistics activities, the second one minimizes the maximum overload of local distribution centers, and the third one minimized the maximum accident loss throughout the distribution of relief items. What is more, different simultaneous decisions are determined, including facility location-allocation, service sharing, relief distribution, truck routing, transferring service and the evacuation of victims. Owing to the fact that the planning of humanitarian logistics problem is encountered with miscellaneous uncertain factors, such as demand, supply, costs, and capacities of facilities, a robust optimization approach is employed to tackle these challenges. Furthermore, a number of numerical instances are provided to illustrate the validity of the proposed mathematical model.