A robust approach to multi period covering location-allocation problem in pharmaceutical supply chain

This paper proposes a discrete capacitated covering location-allocation model for pharmaceutical centers. In the presented model, two objectives are considered; the first one is the minimization of costs and the second one tries to maximize customer satisfaction by definition of social justice. Social justice in the model means that we consider customers satisfaction by using distance. The introduced model is an extension of the maximum covering model by adding zone constraint. Actually, the distance between facility and customer zone is used to define the possible and not possible location. The model tries to locate facilities in a best and possible location. In addition, number of missed customers is important and the model considers this issue. Since the nature of the demand is uncertain, a robust approach is proposed. The proposed model is suitable for perishable products. A numerical example presents the performance of the proposed model.