Title: Ant lion optimisation algorithm for two stage supply chain network associated with fixed charges

Authors: P. Manimaran; M.K. Marichelvam

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology, Virudhunagar, Tamilnadu, 626001, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi, Tamilnadu, 626005, India

Abstract: In this paper, an effective ant lion optimisation (ALO) algorithm is proposed for two stage supply chain network associated with fixed charge transportation problem (FCTP) which is strongly NP-hard. In a FCTP, fixed cost is incurred for every route, along with the variable cost that is proportional to the amount shipped. In some circumstances, the variable cost is associated with quadratic variables in which the cost function will be nonlinear. The aim of this paper is to determine the least cost transportation plan that minimises the total variable and fixed costs while satisfying the supply and demand requirements of each plant and customer. The performance of the proposed ALO is compared in terms of total cost with other algorithms addressed in the literature such as genetic algorithm, simulated annealing and ant colony optimisation. The computational results reveal that the proposed ALO provides better solutions.

Keywords: ant lion optimisation; ALO; fixed cost; NP-hard; transportation problem; fixed charge transportation problem; FCTP; combinatorial optimisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2020.111035

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2020 Vol.37 No.3, pp.407 - 425

Received: 11 Jul 2017
Accepted: 19 Oct 2018
Published online: 06 Nov 2020 *

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