Two-agent integrated scheduling of production and distribution operations with fixed departure times

Abstract

We consider integrated scheduling of production and distribution operations associated with two customers (agents). Each customer has a set of orders to be processed on the single production line at a supplier on a competitive basis. The finished orders of the same customer are then packed and delivered to the customer by a third-party logistics (3PL) provider with a limited number of delivery transporters. The number of orders carried in a delivery transporter cannot exceed its delivery capacity. Each transporter incurs a fixed delivery cost regardless of the number of orders it carries, and departs from the 3PL provider to a customer at fixed times. Each customer desires to minimise a certain optimality criterion involving simultaneously the customer service level and the total delivery cost for its orders only.