Introduction to the special issue on models and algorithms for supply chain systems

Abstract

Warehouses play a significant role in all logistics networks. Any restriction in accessing warehouses leads to harmful influences in the network operations. Therefore, it is necessary to consider reliability for warehouse networks. In recent decades, researchers have developed different methods for reliable location of facilities against disruptions. Some disruptions may happen intentionally. Networks with valuable flows like cash transporting systems or military networks are at the risk of intentional disruption. All previous methods lead to the networks that carried out operations to protect the network after disruption. No significant effort has been done to prevent damage to network before disruption. In this paper, we have proposed a new concept called “prevention reliability” which prevents the network from intentional disruption and increases reliability before any attack. In other words, prevention reliability prevents disruption by inserting optimum number of fake items beside real items in the network to make a complicated environment for hostile. In this way, distinguishing real items would be more complicated, and so make more prevention for real items. In this paper, the reliable warehouse location problem is modeled by this concept and solutions are demonstrated by four data sets: a small data set is used to verify the model and two larger examples are used to check the efficiency of the model. Finally, a real world case study in the field of Tehran relief warehouses is investigated. A comparative analysis is also presented to illustrate the efficiency of proposed concept.