A location-routing-inventory model for designing multisource distribution networks

This article studies a ternary-integration problem that incorporates location, inventory and routing decisions in designing a multisource distribution network. The objective of the problem is to minimize the total cost of location, routing and inventory. A mixed-integer programming formulation is first presented, and then a three-phase heuristic is developed to solve large-sized instances of the problem. The numerical study indicates that the proposed heuristic is both effective and efficient.