Design of a pharmaceutical supply chain network under uncertainty considering perishability and substitutability of products

•We propose a new analytical model for pharmaceutical supply chain network design.•Considering products perishability, substitutability and quantity discount.•Introducing a novel robust possibilistic optimization approach.•Providing a case study to show the application of the model in industry. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Information sciences 2018-01, Vol.423, p.257-283
Main Authors: Zahiri, B., Jula, P., Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Fuzzy logic
Healthcare network
Pharmaceutical supply chain network
Product perishability
Substitutable products
Uncertainty
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Summary:•We propose a new analytical model for pharmaceutical supply chain network design.•Considering products perishability, substitutability and quantity discount.•Introducing a novel robust possibilistic optimization approach.•Providing a case study to show the application of the model in industry. This paper proposes a mathematical model for the network design of a pharmaceutical supply chain. The two objective functions of the presented model seek to minimize the total cost and the maximum unmet demand. We depart from the existing literature by considering products’ shelf-life, substitutability and quantity discount, while addressing uncertainties in costs and demand. In doing so, a novel robust possibilistic optimization approach is introduced and its performance is analyzed. Finally, a case study is provided and its proposed optimal network is discussed.
ISSN:0020-0255
1872-6291
DOI:10.1016/j.ins.2017.09.046