The stochastic production routing problem with adaptive routing and service level constraints
研究了在需求不确定下，企业如何通过自适应路径和服务水平约束来整合生产、库存和配送决策，以最小化总成本并满足特定服务目标。
Demand uncertainty poses a challenge to most companies in manufacturing and services as it can lead to significant profit losses if not addressed properly. To deal with this risk, companies may adopt specific service level targets to satisfy at least a certain proportion of their demand while considering operational constraints and minimizing the total cost. In this study we address the stochastic production routing problem (PRP) with adaptive routing and service level constraints. The PRP unifies the production, inventory and routing decisions into an integrated problem aimed at improving coordination across different parts of the system. We consider four different types of service levels, where each type uses a specific metric based on assumptions aligning with the needs of the company. These metrics encompass aspects such as the occurrence of stockouts or allowed ratios of backlogs or backorders to average demand. A two-stage stochastic formulation is proposed for each type of service level. Setup decisions are made in the first stage, and production, inventory, and routing decisions are adapted after demand realization. Considering routing decisions in the second stage increases flexibility while lowering overall costs. However, the resulting optimization problem is more challenging to solve than the case where routing decisions are made in the first stage. To address this issue, we introduce an iterative matheuristic algorithm designed to yield high-quality solutions within a reasonable computation time. The effectiveness of the proposed heuristic algorithm is demonstrated through extensive experiments, highlighting its potential to assist companies in managing demand uncertainty and enhancing operational efficiency.