Integrated production and distribution scheduling problems related to fixed delivery departure dates and weights of late orders.

Shanlin Li,Maoqin Li

doi:10.1155/2015/804968

Abstract

We consider an integrated production and distribution scheduling problem faced by a typical make-to-order manufacturer which relies on a third-party logistics (3PL) provider for finished product delivery to customers. In the beginning of a planning horizon, the manufacturer has received a set of orders to be processed on a single production line. Completed orders are delivered to customers by a finite number of vehicles provided by the 3PL company which follows a fixed daily or weekly shipping schedule such that the vehicles have fixed departure dates which are not part of the decisions. The problem is to find a feasible schedule that minimizes one of the following objective functions when processing times and weights are oppositely ordered: (1) the total weight of late orders and (2) the number of vehicles used subject to the condition that the total weight of late orders is minimum. We show that both problems are solvable in polynomial time.

Highlights

An increasing number of companies adopt make-toorder business models in which products are custom-made and delivered to customers within a very short lead time directly from the factory
A majority of the companies worldwide rely on the 3PL providers for their daily distribution and other logistics needs [1]. 3PL providers often follow a fixed daily or weekly schedule for serving their customers
We study integrated production and outbound distribution scheduling decisions commonly faced by many manufacturers that operate in a make-to-order mode and rely on a 3PL provider for finished product delivery to customers where the 3PL provider follows a fixed delivery schedule

Summary

Introduction

An increasing number of companies adopt make-toorder business models in which products are custom-made and delivered to customers within a very short lead time directly from the factory. The problem of minimizing ∑ni=1 wiUi is NP-hard as it contains the NP-hard classical single-machine total weight of late orders scheduling problem [2] as a special case when the delivery part is not considered. The problems are strongly NP-hard as they contain the strongly NP-hard classical single-machine total weighted tardiness scheduling problem [11] as a special case when the delivery part is not considered These papers propose various heuristics for solving their problems. The problem is to find a feasible schedule that minimizes one of the following objective functions: (a) the maximum lateness of orders, (b) the number of vehicles used subject to the condition that the maximum lateness is minimum, and (c) the weighted sum of the maximum lateness and the number of vehicles used They show that all three problems are solvable in polynomial time.

Feasibility

Method

Total Weight of Late Orders

Number of Vehicles Used

Conclusion