Dynamic Coal Logistics Facility Location under Demand Uncertainty

Abstract

In this paper, dynamic facility location and supply chain planning are studied through minimizing the costs of facility location, path selection and transportation of coal under demand uncertainty. The proposed model dynamically incorporates possible changes in transportation network, facility investment costs, operating cost and changes in facility location. In addition, the time variation and the demand uncertainty for coal in each period of the planning horizon is taken into account to determine the optimal facility location and the optimal production volumes. Computational process and results are presented for the model in a java language. Also, an empirical case study in Shanxi province is conducted in order to investigate the dynamic effects of traffic congestion and demand uncertainty on facility location design and total system costs.