The integrated distribution network design problem with transportation economies-of-scale: Model and algorithm

In this paper, we formulate and analyze an integrated design model for multi-product, multi-echelon distribution systems with significant economies-of-scale in the transportation movements and stochastic demand at retailers. The hybrid particle swarm optimization (HPSO) algorithm is designed for the complicated mathematical model, which is combining the transportation route prediction algorithm (TRP) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). The results analysis confirm that the superiority of the integrated design model and efficiency of the hybrid PSO.