An optimisation model for the design of global multi-echelon supply chains under lead time constraints

Abstract

This article presents a mixed integer programming model for the design of global multi-echelon supply chains while considering lead time constraints. Indeed, we impose that the delivery lead time that can be promised by the company must be smaller than the lead time required by the customer. The delivery lead time is calculated based on the lead times of purchasing, manufacturing and transportation that are triggered by the customer order while considering the stock levels of purchased, intermediate and final products that must be kept at the different facilities. Computational studies are conducted in order to analyse the impacts of including lead times on the supply chain design decisions and to prove the solvability of the model.

Keywords:

• supply chain design
• lead times
• global logistics networks
• mixed integer programming