Ant lion optimisation algorithm for two stage supply chain network associated with fixed charges

摘要

In this paper, an effective ant lion optimisation (ALO) algorithm is proposed for two stage supply chain network associated with fixed charge transportation problem (FCTP) which is strongly NP-hard. In a FCTP, fixed cost is incurred for every route, along with the variable cost that is proportional to the amount shipped. In some circumstances, the variable cost is associated with quadratic variables in which the cost function will be nonlinear. The aim of this paper is to determine the least cost transportation plan that minimises the total variable and fixed costs while satisfying the supply and demand requirements of each plant and customer. The performance of the proposed ALO is compared in terms of total cost with other algorithms addressed in the literature such as genetic algorithm, simulated annealing and ant colony optimisation. The computational results reveal that the proposed ALO provides better solutions.