Title: Transshipment problem with fuzzy customer demands and fuzzy inventory costs

Authors: Mohamed Hmiden; Lamjed Ben Said; Khaled Ghédira

Addresses: SOIE, ISG, University of Tunis, 41, Avenue de Liberté, cité Bouchoucha 2000 Tunis, Tunisia ' SOIE, ISG, University of Tunis, 41, Avenue de Liberté, cité Bouchoucha 2000 Tunis, Tunisia ' SOIE, ISG, University of Tunis, 41, Avenue de Liberté, cité Bouchoucha 2000 Tunis, Tunisia

Abstract: We consider a supply chain consisting of a supplier and locations selling an innovative product. These locations could collaborate together by transshipment which is known as product transferring adopted mainly to reduce inventory costs and to improve customer service level. In this research, we are interested in the transshipment problem where the customer demands, the holding and the shortage costs are uncertain and represented by fuzzy sets. Our objectives are to propose a transshipment policy that takes into account the fuzziness of the mentioned parameters and to derive the approximate replenishment quantities. In order to achieve these objectives, we propose a transshipment decision process considering decision makers attitudes towards risks and a hybrid algorithm based on fuzzy simulation and genetic algorithm designed to determine the approximate replenishment quantities.

Keywords: transshipment policy; uncertain environment; fuzzy customer demands; fuzzy holding costs; fuzzy shortage costs; decision making; risk assessment; fuzzy simulation; genetic algorithms; fuzzy logic; fuzzy inventory costs; supply chain management; SCM; replenishment policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2014.058467

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2014 Vol.13 No.1, pp.99 - 118

Received: 30 Oct 2012
Accepted: 21 Aug 2013
Published online: 30 May 2014 *

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