A TRANSPORTATION OPTIMIZATION MODEL TO DETERMINE THE LOCATIONS OF DISTRIBUTION CENTERS

摘要

As the logistics costs of the companies can be minimized by the distribution centers, the customer service levels are increased. By using different transport alternatives, the companies will become more flexible. In our study, a transportation optimization model is established for a group of companies in Turkey, which uses soil as their raw material. The companies have twelve types of goods/raw materials. And they almost have dealers in each city of Turkey. The combinations of railway, highway and maritime lines are used to transport the goods and the raw materials. In our study, the transport alternatives and the locations of distribution centers are determined which minimize the total transportation cost. In our mixed integer model, the transport, handling, investment and dealer risk costs are taken into consideration.