An effective two-stage stochastic multi-trip location-transportation model with social concerns in relief supply chains

Alfredo Moreno, Douglas Alem, Deisemara Ferreira and Alistair Clark

European Journal of Operational Research, 2018, vol. 269, issue 3, 1050-1071

Abstract: The distribution of emergency aid from warehouses to relief centers to satisfy the needs of the victims in the aftermath of a disaster is a complex problem because it requires a rapid response to human suffering when resources are scarce amidst great uncertainty. In order to provide an effective response and use resources efficiently, this paper presents a novel model to optimize location, transportation, and fleet sizing decisions. In contrast with existing models, vehicles can be reused for multiple trips within micro-periods (blocks of hours) and/or over periods (days). Uncertainty regarding demand, incoming supply, and availability of routes is modeled via a finite set of scenarios, using two-stage stochastic programs. ‘Deprivation costs’ are used to represent social concerns and minimized via two objective functions. Mathematical programming based heuristics are devised to enable good-quality solutions within reasonable computing time. Experimental results based on data from the disastrous 2011 floods and landslides in the Serrana Region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, show that the model’s novel characteristics help get aid faster to victims and naturally enforce fairness in its distribution to disaster areas in a humanitarian spirit.

Keywords: OR in disaster relief; Location-transportation and fleet sizing; Multiple trips; Deprivation costs; MIP heuristics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (45)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221718301371
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ejores:v:269:y:2018:i:3:p:1050-1071

DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2018.02.022

Access Statistics for this article

European Journal of Operational Research is currently edited by Roman Slowinski, Jesus Artalejo, Jean-Charles. Billaut, Robert Dyson and Lorenzo Peccati

More articles in European Journal of Operational Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().