A green approach for a bi-objective programming inventory routing problem

A bi-objective multi-product multi-period inventory routing problem (IRP) consists of constructing routes for multiple capacitated vehicles to meet the given demand of a single plant in a way that no vehicle carries load more than its capacity and each supplier is visited only once each period over a finite planning horizon. In this supply chain, the demand for each product is assumed to be deterministic, time varying and ready for collection when the vehicle arrives at the supplier site. The bi-objective optimization model pertaining to minimize transportation cost and the greenhouse gas emission is considered as a possible solution to achieve a balance of economic and environment. A numerical study is proposed to show the applicability of the model and underline the impact of the green approach on future supply chain performance. © 2016 ISSN.