Design of a Supply Chain-Based Production and Distribution System Based on Multi-Stage Stochastic Programming

Supply chains are one of the key tools in optimizing production and distribution simultaneously. However, information uncertainty is always a challenge in production and distribution management. The main purpose of this paper is to design a two-echelon supply chain in a multi-cycle state and in conditions of demand uncertainty. The task includes determining the number and location of distribution centers, planning capacity for active distribution centers, and determining the amount of shipments between different levels so that the total costs of the chain are minimized. Uncertainty is applied through discrete scenarios in the model and the problem is formulated by multi-stage stochastic programming method in the form of a mixed integer linear model. The results acquired using two indicators called VMS and VSS demonstrated that modeling the supply chain design problem with the multi-stage stochastic approach can result in significant costs reduction. Plus, utilizing mathematical expectation can generate misleading results, therefore resulting in the development of supply chain designs incapable of satisfying demand due to its overlooked limitations.