The inventory-routing problem of returnable transport items with time windows and simultaneous pickup and delivery in closed-loop supply chains

Galina Iassinovskaia, Sabine Limbourg and Fouad Riane
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Galina Iassinovskaia: Louvain School of Management, Université Catholique de Louvain
Sabine Limbourg: QuantOM HEC Management School University of Liege (ULg)
Fouad Riane: Mechanical Engineering Industrial Management and Innovation Laboratory Hassan Premier University Ecole Centrale Casablanca

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Abstract: Reducing environmental impact, related regulations and potential for operational benefits are the main reasons why companies share their returnable transport items (RTIs) among the different partners of a closed-loop supply chain. In this paper, we consider a producer, located at a depot, who has to distribute his products packed in RTIs to a set of customers. Customers define a time window wherein the service can begin. The producer is also in charge of the collection of empty RTIs for reuse in the next production cycle. Each partner has a storage area composed of both empty and loaded RTI stock, as characterized by initial levels and maximum storage capacity. As deliveries and returns are performed by a homogeneous fleet of vehicles that can carry simultaneously empty and loaded RTIs, this research addresses a pickup and delivery inventory-routing problem within time windows (PDIRPTW) over a planning horizon. A mixed-integer linear program is developed and tested on small-scale instances. To handle more realistic large-scale problems, a cluster first-route second matheuristic is propose

Keywords: Closed-loop supply chain; Inventory routing problem; Pickups and deliveries; Returnable transport item; Time windows (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-01-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in International Journal of Production Economics, 2017, 183, pp.570-582. ⟨10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.06.024⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04333507

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.06.024

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