Research on Logistics Center Location-Allocation Problem Based on Two-Stage K-Means Algorithms

Abstract

Economy and timeliness are two key issues to be considered in the location of logistics center. This paper makes a logistics center location-allocation model with economy (i.e. total transportation turnover level) as the decision goal, and timeliness (i.e. the maximum transportation distance tolerated) as the constraint condition. Then a two-stage algorithm based on K-means clustering is proposed to solve the model. Firstly, it uses K-means algorithm to calculate the initial location and service area division of logistics center from the perspective of economy. Secondly, in each service area, location scheme is optimized and adjusted to with the lowest total transportation turnover. The example shows that the algorithm can effectively solve the location-allocation problem of logistics center with time constraint.