Optimizing supply chain network for perishable products using improved bacteria foraging algorithm

A Fuzzy Bi-objective Mathematical Model for Perishable Medical Goods Supply Chain Network Considering Crisis Situations: An Empirical Study

In case of crisis, the salvation of injuries depends on the timely provision of medical goods, relief supplies, and equipment. The aim of this study is to present a mathematical model for the supply chain network of perishable medical goods in crisis situation considering the uncertain environment. In this paper, a three-level supply chain including suppliers, intermediate warehouses, and final customers is developed for perishable medical items. The uncertainty of customer demand for service and the spent time in the intermediate warehouses are considered using the exponential distribution functions. Also, it is assumed that the life-cycle of perishable medical goods follow the Weibull distribution function. The model attempts to minimize the total costs of the supply chain and total presence time of perishable items in the whole chain. The LP-Metric method is employed for solving small-sized problems. Due to the NP-Hardness of the problem, the modified Multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) are utilized as 2 well-known and efficient meta-heuristic algorithms for solving large-sized problems. The findings indicate that the meta-heuristic algorithms are efficient in achieving close to the optimal solution for large-size problems in a reasonable time. Also, the results demonstrate that NSGA-II outperforms MOPSO in terms of the high quality solution. Finally, the applicability of the model to real-world problems is demonstrated using a real case study. This paper can assist the planners and decision-makers of perishable drugs supply chain networks in crisis conditions with on-time supplying and distributing the required emergency items.

Nature-Inspired Metaheuristic Techniques for Combinatorial Optimization Problems: Overview and Recent Advances

Combinatorial optimization problems are often considered NP-hard problems in the field of decision science and the industrial revolution. As a successful transformation to tackle complex dimensional problems, metaheuristic algorithms have been implemented in a wide area of combinatorial optimization problems. Metaheuristic algorithms have been evolved and modified with respect to the problem nature since it was recommended for the first time. As there is a growing interest in incorporating necessary methods to develop metaheuristics, there is a need to rediscover the recent advancement of metaheuristics in combinatorial optimization. From the authors’ point of view, there is still a lack of comprehensive surveys on current research directions. Therefore, a substantial part of this paper is devoted to analyzing and discussing the modern age metaheuristic algorithms that gained popular use in mostly cited combinatorial optimization problems such as vehicle routing problems, traveling salesman problems, and supply chain network design problems. A survey of seven different metaheuristic algorithms (which are proposed after 2000) for combinatorial optimization problems is carried out in this study, apart from conventional metaheuristics like simulated annealing, particle swarm optimization, and tabu search. These metaheuristics have been filtered through some key factors like easy parameter handling, the scope of hybridization as well as performance efficiency. In this study, a concise description of the framework of the selected algorithm is included. Finally, a technical analysis of the recent trends of implementation is discussed, along with the impacts of algorithm modification on performance, constraint handling strategy, the handling of multi-objective situations using hybridization, and future research opportunities.