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.