Fuzzy Bicriteria Optimization Approach to Distribution Network Design

Distribution network design deals with defining which elements will be part of the supply chain and how they will be interrelated. Many authors have studied this problem from a cost minimization point of view. Nowadays the sustainability factor is increasing its importance in the logistics operations and must be considered in the design process. We deal here with the problem of determining the location of the links in a supply chain and the assignment of the final customers considering at the same time cost and environmental objectives. We use a fuzzy bicriteria model for solving the problem, embedded in a genetic algorithm that looks for the best trade-off solution. A set of experiments have been carried out to check the performance of the procedure, using some instances for which we know a priori a good reference solution.