Facility location models for distribution planning (Q1069423)

Strategic planners are interested in the design and location of physical facilities (factories and warehouses) so that the costs associated with production, storage, and transportation are minimized while, at the same time, minimum levels of customer service are achieved. Models range from simple single-commodity source-to-destination only shipments versions to complex multi-commodity multi-echelon transshipment problems with many side constraints. This paper reviews some of the algorithms which, through the use of heuristics and optimization techniques, have contributed significantly to the current state-of-knowledge for dealing with many of these models.