Application of fuzzy sets to manufacturing/distribution planning decisions with multi-product and multi-time period in supply chains

Abstract

This work applies fuzzy sets to integrating manufacturing/distribution planning decision (MDPD) problems with multi-product and multi-time period in supply chains by considering time value of money for each of the operating cost categories. The proposed fuzzy multi-objective linear programming model (FMOLP) attempts to simultaneously minimize total costs and total delivery time with reference to inventory levels, available machine capacity and labor levels at each source, as well as market demand and available warehouse space at each destination, and the constraint on total budget. An industrial case demonstrates the feasibility of applying the proposed model to a realistic MDPD problem and several significant management implications are presented based on computational analysis and comparisons with the existing MDPD methods. The main advantage of the proposed model is that it presents a systematic framework that facilitates fuzzy decision-making for solving the multi-objective MDPD problems with multi-product and multi-time period in supply chains under an uncertain environment, enabling the decision maker to adjust the search direction during the solution procedure to obtain a preferred satisfactory solution.