An optimization approach for blood supply chain management integrating drone delivery method

Abstract

This paper investigates the application of drone delivery for blood supply chain management (BSCM). This paper aims to minimize the delivery lead time and make the fastest delivery of lifesaving blood products within a specified delivery range. We proposed an optimization model that uses mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) with Dijkstra’s algorithm. This model considers drone capabilities such as payload capacity, travel speed, and range. This study investigates the possibilities of drone delivery in blood supply chain management, with a priority on reducing delivery lead time and enabling rapid deliveries. While incorporating real-world scenarios with multiple locations like hospitals, clinics, and demand locations. Randomly generated test instances are used. To evaluate the model’s effectiveness, Numerical illustration has been analyzed using Python programming as the development platform for implementing the solution.