A logistics model for emergency supply of critical items in the aftermath of a disaster

This paper proposes a logistics model for delivery of prioritized items in disaster relief operations. It considers multi-items, multi-vehicles, multi-periods, soft time windows, and a split delivery strategy scenario, and is formulated as a multi-objective integer programming model. To effectively solve this model we limit the number of available tours. Two heuristic approaches are introduced for this purpose. The first approach is based on a genetic algorithm, while the second approach is developed by decomposing the original problem. We compare these two approaches via a computational study. The multi-objective problem is converted to a single-objective problem by the weighted sum method. A case study is presented to illustrate the potential applicability of our model. Also, presented is a comparison of our model with that proposed in a recent paper by Balcik et al. [6]. The results show that our proposed model outperforms theirs in terms of delivering prioritized items over several time periods.     

Optimization models in emergency logistics: A literature review

Optimization modeling has become a powerful tool to tackle emergency logistics problems since its first adoption in maritime disaster situations in the 1970s. Using techniques of content analysis, this paper reviews optimization models utilized in emergency logistics. Disaster operations can be performed before or after disaster occurrence. Short-notice evacuation, facility location, and stock pre-positioning are drafted as the main pre-disaster operations, while relief distribution and casualty transportation are categorized as post-disaster operations. According to these operations, works in the literature are broken down into three parts: facility location, relief distribution and casualty transportation, and other operations. For the first two parts, the literature is structured and analyzed based on the model types, decisions, objectives, and constraints. Finally, through the content analysis framework, several research gaps are identified and future research directions are proposed.     

A multi-stage stochastic programming approach for pre-positioning of relief supplies considering returns

A dynamic pre-positioning problem is proposed to efficiently respond to victims’ need for relief supplies under uncertain and dynamic demand in humanitarian relief. The problem is formulated as a multi-stage stochastic programming model that considers pre-positioning with the dynamic procurement and return decisions about relief supplies over a time horizon. To validate the advantages of dynamic pre-positioning, three additional pre-positioning strategies are presented: pre-positioning with one-time procurement and without returns, pre-positioning with one-time procurement and returns, and pre-positioning with dynamic procurement and without returns. Using data from real-world disasters in the United States in the Emergency Events Database, we present a numerical analysis to study the applicability of the proposed models. We develop a sample average approximation approach to solving the proposed model in large-scale cases. Our main contribution is that we integrate dynamic procurement and return strategies into pre-positioning to decrease both costs and shortage risks in uncertain and dynamic contexts. The results illustrate that dynamic pre-positioning outperforms the other three strategies in cost savings. It also indicates that a higher return price is particularly helpful for decreasing unmet demand. The proposed models can help relief agencies evaluate and choose the solutions that will have the greatest overall effectiveness in the context of different relief practices.     

基于一体化管理的企业工程项目物流运作模式问题的研究

首先概述了企业工程项目物流运作的基本内涵及其物流运作一体化构建的相关知识体系,接着分析了基于一体化管理的企业工程项目物流运作模式构建的影响因素及其作用机制,从对工程项目供求关系管理和信息网络平台的搭建两个方面分析了企业工程项目一体化物流过程的优化重构,最后提出了企业工程项目物流运作模式一体化管理的建议和对策。     

A model of integrated regional logistics hub in supply chain

ABSTRACT

A regional logistics hub is a constellation of multiple logistics facilities in a region of several provinces or states. This research models an integrated regional logistics hub with consideration of time-phased demand in a multi-echelon, multi-period, and capacitated logistics network. The integrated logistics hub considers three phases based on the characteristics of China’s five-year planning policy. By applying mixed integer linear programming, the greedy heuristics approach, the particle swarm optimization algorithm, and the Hungarian method, the location of logistics facilities at different echelons of a supply chain is identified and the needs for facility expansion or closing during different time periods are determined.     

Disaster relief routing: Integrating research and practice

Disaster relief presents many unique logistics challenges, with problems including damaged transportation infrastructure, limited communication, and coordination of multiple agents. Central to disaster relief logistics is the distribution of life-saving commodities to beneficiaries. Operations research models have potential to help relief agencies save lives and money, maintain standards of humanitarianism and fairness and maximize the use of limited resources amid post-disaster chaos. Through interviews with aid organizations, reviews of their publications, and a literature review of operations research models in transportation of relief goods, this paper provides an analysis of the use of such models from the perspective of both practitioners and academics. With the complexity of disaster relief distribution and the relatively small number of journal articles written on it, this is an area with potential for helping relief organizations and for tremendous growth in operations research.     

Managing returnable transport items in a vendor managed inventory system

This paper addresses a closed-loop inventory routing problem with demand uncertainty, which manages the delivery operations to customers and pick-up operations of empty returnable transport items (RTIs) from customers. The problem involves decisions regarding forward and backward vehicle routes, the delivery and collection quantities, the amount of production in terms of the number of filled RTIs, and the number of RTIs produced/ bought by the vendor during the defined planning horizon. The problem considers the holding costs, fixed cost of operating vehicles, fuel consumption cost, producing/buying costs, cleaning costs of RTIs, and loading and unloading costs. We formulate the problem as a mixed integer linear programming model and propose a Relax and Fix based solution approach to solve large instances. We conduct extensive analyses on a case study derived from a fruit and vegetable distribution network and several hypothetical instances. Our analyses investigate the effects of several problem parameter changes (i.e., average collection rate, customer service level, cost of buying crate and handling cost) on the total logistics cost. Additional numerical analyses are performed to demonstrate the usage of the model for evaluating the cost of being more green and environmental-friendly. Moreover, experiments on relatively large-scaled problems allow us to demonstrate the potential benefits of the proposed heuristic     

冷链物流配送中心选址的多目标优化模型

针对冷链物流所配送物品易腐坏的特性,综合考虑了物流总成本和物流服务可靠度,建立了冷链物流配送中心选址多目标规划模型。通过主要目标法将此模型转化为单目标优化模型,并运用lingo软件对优化模型进行验证,最后通过实例计算,证明了该模型在冷链物流配送中心选址问题中的可行性和通用性。     

物流配送问题的研究文献统计与综述

针对2000-2008年关于物流配送问题的研究文献进行梳理和分析,按研究内容分为物流配送中心选址、系统内部作业与管理、专业市场物流配送模式、配送中心布局与建设、基于电子商务的物流配送、物流配送路径优化和物流配送车辆调度等七类,按研究方法分为运筹学方法、仿真技术、评价方法、单一遗传算法、遗传算法与其它方法结合、其它启发式算法、其它定量方法、现状分析与对策建议等八类,根据各类的研究统计,提出进一步研究的方向。     

军地结合应急物流的思考

军队在抢险救灾、反恐平暴等突发事件中扮演了十分重要的角色,在应急物流中起着越来越重要的作用,所以在军地结合背景下怎样推进应急物流建设将是一个重要的现实课题。文中分析现有应急物流系统结构几个层面存在的问题,并提出促进应急物流发展的方法。     

Reliable design of a congested disaster relief network: A two-stage stochastic-robust optimization approach

The preparedness of humanitarian relief networks can be enhanced by pre-positioning resources in strategic locations and using them when disasters strike, a strategy that gives rise to a two-stage planning problem. This paper presents a novel two-stage stochastic-robust optimization approach for integrated planning of pre- and post-disaster positioning and allocation of relief resources, while taking into consideration the uncertainty about demand for relief services and disruptions in the relief facilities and the transportation network. The proposed approach enables planners to effectively use limited historical data and imperfect experts’ opinions to obtain robust solutions while avoiding the over-conservatism of classical robust optimization methods. The objective sought is to minimize the expected total time victims need to receive assistance, including both access time to facilities and waiting/service time in them. Congestion in relief facilities is accounted for by modeling them as queuing systems and penalizing waiting time. A decomposition method based on column-and-constraint generation is implemented to solve the problem, whereas the nonlinear terms corresponding to queuing in the second-stage problem are handled using a direct search procedure. Applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a real case study and the numerical results are analyzed to draw managerial insights.     

基于Stackelberg均衡的第三方物流分包质量合同模型

如何管理、控制分包商的运作质量,使之符合第三方物流服务需求方的质量标准,本文在AlfredssonM构建的第三方物流提供者与分包商之间的Nash均衡模型的基础上,从第三方物流提供者与分包商的决策行为出发,提出了基于stackelberg均衡的第三方物流服务分包质量合同模型,并比较了第三方物流提供者和分包商对Nash均衡博弈结构和stackelberg博弈结构的决策取向。     

物流配送中心拣选作业的人因工程量化评估

基于人因工程视角,探究电子商务模式下新兴的物流配送中心拣选作业的工程负荷与职业健康,研究选取能量代谢量、心率等指标,量化物流拣选作业环节的劳动强度等级,并利用疲劳强度评估提出合理的作息安排,即当劳动负荷为5km/h时,物流拣选劳动者平均每工作48min后,需要休息6min;当劳动负荷为7km/h时,物流拣选劳动者平均每工作19min后,需要休息6min。该研究拟在改善电子商务模式下物流配送中心衔接不紧密、响应速度慢等瓶颈问题的同时,关注劳动密集型作业环节的工程负荷与职业健康。     

Excel软件在物流运筹学教学中应用探究

物流运筹学的前身属于管理学的一个分支——管理科学,而它是高校物流管理专业的主干课程。物流运筹学是一门具有实际意义的课程,是运用系统优化的方法 ,通过建立数学模型来求解,通过合理的分析与运算,最后得出合理的决策,以达到高效率的配置人力、物力、财力等资源的目的。Excel在其计算中发挥着巨大的作用。文章通过实际的案例来导入,以期能帮助物流专业教师提供以Excel为工具解决物流运筹学的思路与方法,进而达到提高教学效率、实现教学效果的目的。     

Redesign strategies of a comprehensive robust relief network for disaster management

We address the problem of designing as well as redesigning a relief network over multiple periods as a strategic decision which plays a critical role in the post-disaster management. Design of the relief network has a significant impact on the effective performance of disaster response operations. For considering both the uncertainty and dynamism of the decision-making environment, a comprehensive scenario-based robust approach embedded in the rolling horizon framework is proposed. The proposed mixed-integer linear programming model is inspired by a real case study of a disaster management in Iran, which aims to minimize the total cost of network management. Furthermore, restorative strategies are considered to increase the efficiency and robustness of the proposed relief network under disaster. To tackle the proposed optimization model, a heuristic solution algorithm is adopted. The results indicate that the proposed robust relief network provides an affordable access to its demand points in a sustainable manner under disaster. In addition, extensive computational results illustrate the efficiency of the proposed model in dealing with the considered disaster management issues.     

A two-period newsvendor model for prepositioning with a post-disaster replenishment using Bayesian demand update

Humanitarian aid agencies usually resort to inventory prepositioning to mitigate the impact of disasters by sending emergency supplies to the affected area as quickly as possible. However, a lack of replenishment opportunity after a disaster can greatly hamper the effectiveness of the relief operation due to uncertainty in demand. In this paper, a prepositioning problem is formulated as a two-period newsvendor model where the response phase is divided into two periods. The model acknowledges the demand to be uncertain even after the disaster and utilises the Bayesian approach to revise the demand of the second period. Based on the revised demand, an order is placed at the beginning of the second period to be replenished instantaneously. A two-stage solution methodology is proposed to find the prepositioning quantity and post-disaster replenishment quantity, which minimise the total expected costs of relief operations. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the solution methodology, and sensitivity analysis is performed to examine the effect of model parameters. The results highlight the indifferent characteristics shown by the replenishment quantity with the variation in model parameters.     

配送中心选址问题研究文献综述

通过研究、分析、归纳和总结国内外配遥中心选址问题研究文献,提出新的分类法。即单独研究配送中·心选址问题类和结合物流管理的库存战略、运输战略、顾客服务目标等其它战略研究配送中心选址问题类。根据列举、剖析两类文献中的典型文献和分析物流配送业的新趋势、新发展,提出配这中心选址问题研究的新方向——基于顾客满意度的多目标配送中心选址问题。     

物流专业学生应用创新能力的培养方法研究

应用数量方法解决物流实践中的决策和设计问题是物流专业学生的应用创新能力的核心,文中以运筹学的教学为例,探讨物流专业学生的应用创新能力的培养方法,根据多年的教学经验提出以问题为中心的教学方法,并从教学内容、教学形式和考核方式等方面研究改进理论课教学方法和加强实践教学的方式,重点培养学生的应用创新能力。     

Designing an integrated humanitarian logistics network for the preparedness and response phases under uncertainty

In the current paper, a model of possibilistic location-allocation is proposed for designing a multi-period bi-objective humanitarian logistics network that pursues a reduction in the total cost and maximizes the total network coverage. The model considers the inventory management of perishable relief items and the flow of affected and wounded people in pre-disaster and post-disaster phases, simultaneously. Moreover, wounded people are categorized according to the injury severity. The uncertainty associated with key parameters is also addressed. To handle the uncertainty, a fuzzy chance-constrained programming method originated in the Me measure is used. The purpose of this measure is to prevent the extreme attitudes of the decision maker by considering the combination of possibility and necessity measures and using the optimistic-pessimistic parameter. This paper presents a solution procedure derived from a fuzzy interactive programming approach and two meta-heuristic algorithms, imperialist competitive algorithm and invasive weed optimization, so as to solve the study model. As for the validation of the proposed model and solution procedures, a number of test problems have been generated. A real-life case study is also implemented to instantiate whether the proposed model is applicable or not.     

多元目标下的企业经济管理模式探讨

多元目标下,经济目标、社会目标和生态目标之间形成了相互支撑的融合态势。在经济管理模式的构件上,需要在成本控制上下功夫;需要完善企业工会的组织结构和制度安排;需要有步骤的开展绿色物流业务运作。