An evolutionary algorithm for optimizing material flow in supply chains

Supply chain management literature calls for coordination between the different members of the chain. Materials should be moved from one supplier to the next according to a just-in-time schedule. In this paper we develop an evolutionary algorithm (EA) for optimal synchronization of supply chains. In developing our algorithm, we use the economic delivery and scheduling model and analyze supply chains dealing with multiple-components. We test the performance of the proposed EA and show that it provides optimal, or near optimal, solutions for a wide range of problems. The EA is shown to be much faster at solving large problems than an enumeration procedure and exhibits robust behavior when tested on a variety of different problem parameters.

[1]  Zbigniew Michalewicz,et al.  Genetic algorithms + data structures = evolution programs (2nd, extended ed.) , 1994 .

[2]  Zbigniew Michalewicz,et al.  Genetic Algorithms + Data Structures = Evolution Programs , 1992, Artificial Intelligence.

[3]  Zbigniew Michalewicz,et al.  The use of genetic algorithms to solve the economic lot size scheduling problem , 1998, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[4]  Candace Arai Yano,et al.  The economic lot and delivery scheduling problem: the common cycle case , 1995 .

[5]  A. J. Clewett,et al.  Introduction to sequencing and scheduling , 1974 .

[6]  Candace Arai Yano,et al.  The economic lot and delivery scheduling problem: models for nested schedules , 1995 .

[7]  Meir J. Rosenblatt,et al.  On the economic ordering quantity for jointly replenished items , 1991 .

[8]  Z. Michalewicz,et al.  A comparison between genetic algorithms and the RAND method for solving the joint replenishment problem , 2000 .

[9]  Hamed Kamal Eldin Computers & Industrial Engineering. A quarterly International Journal , 1988 .

[10]  Zbigniew Michalewicz,et al.  Evolutionary Algorithm for Economic Lot and Delivery Scheduling Problem , 1998, Fundam. Informaticae.

[11]  Zbigniew Michalewicz,et al.  Genetic Algorithms + Data Structures = Evolution Programs , 1996, Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

[12]  Candace Arai Yano,et al.  The economic lot and delivery scheduling problem: The single item case , 1992 .

[13]  M. Khouja,et al.  Synchronization in supply chains: implications for design and management , 2003, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[14]  E. L. Nichols,et al.  Introduction to Supply Chain Management , 1998 .