Title: The drop-lot location problem on a supply chain

Authors: Clarence Martin, Faizul Huq, Trevor S. Hale, Quentin Willey

Addresses: Department of Management Systems, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, USA. ' Department of Management Systems, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, USA; IRMAPE, Groupe ESC Pau 3 rue Saint-John Perse, 64000 Pau Cedex, France. ' Department of Management, Marketing, and Business Administration, University of Houston – Downtown, Houston, Texas 77002, USA. ' Sentinel Transportation, LLC, Washington, WV 26181, USA

Abstract: This paper presents a model for strategically locating drop-lots on a supply chain distribution network. The problem is modelled as a set covering location problem with the addition of a set of minimum-distance-away constraints. The effect of these constraints on the solution space is dramatic, reducing the problem size significantly. It is also proposed that the use of drop-lots in a supply chain can have beneficial quality of life effects for the truck drivers in such a system by allowing them more home time. A real-life example problem from the Midwest is used to validate the model and some computational experience is also reported.

Keywords: drop-lots; facility location; set cover location; supply chain operations; supply chain management; SCM; distribution networks; modelling; quality of life; truck drivers; home time.

DOI: 10.1504/WRITR.2010.034666

World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research, 2010 Vol.3 No.3, pp.267- 284

Published online: 14 Aug 2010 *

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