On the integrated production and distribution problems in make-to order businesses

In this dissertation, we study three Integrated Production and Distribution Problems (IPDP) with a variety of supply chain configurations. All problems stem from real-life applications in make-to-order businesses under the JIT principle, while each makes unique contributions to the literature as well as in practice. We present for each problem a detailed complexity analysis, a thorough exploration of the inherent structural properties, a mathematical programming formulation, and effective and efficient heuristics, followed by a comprehensive empirical study which validates a strong performance of each solution algorithm. Our goal is to achieve the following objectives: a) to find and investigate integrated production and distribution problems that closely mirror industrial supply chain operations; b) to provide a detailed analysis of the complexity and a thorough exploration of structural properties under each model; and c) to develop computational solution algorithms to be adopted as effective and efficient decision-making tools by industry practitioners. In the first IPDP, customer orders are produced and delivered in one batch within the product lifespan to satisfy customer requirements in terms of time window. The objective is to choose a subset of customers to receive their deliveries so as to maximize the total demand satisfaction with limited production and distribution facilities. The second IPDP involves multiple production and distribution batches, a capacitated delivery truck, and cyclic deliveries. A no-wait condition is applied between batch production and distribution. Therefore, once produced, a batch is sent immediately forward onto its delivery trip. The problem is to cluster and sequence customer orders into batches so that the latest completion time is minimized. In the third IPDP, we consider short product lifespan, distinct customer orders, a non-decreasingly sequenced production based on adjusted due dates, individual and direct shipping by homogeneous trucks, and cyclic deliveries. The objective is to find an integrated production and delivery operation schedule to minimize the overall cost, including the earliness and tardiness penalty costs and the total truck fixed cost, on condition that all orders are fulfilled, and that the product lifespan constraint and truck service time limit are both controlled.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Su Ga