Abstract

The objective of this work is to present a mathematical model and to design the supply chain of a rubber-based company. The need to develop a new logistics network is motivated by the decision of the company to build a new manufacturing plant in Brazil. The mathematical model was based on a single source strategy in which each customer is supplied by only one distribution center. The study used a mixed integer linear programming model to determine the set of distribution centers to be open to meet the demand areas, the amount of each raw material to be purchased from suppliers, and the quantity of each product to be produced at each plant. Given the complexity of the model, we are using a rounding method to generate good initial solutions to the problem. Next, two local search methods were employed to improve the objective function of the initial solution. The main contribution of the paper is to provide a new solution method for this complex problem, making it possible its application to a real world case. The use of the model constitutes an innovative project, since it is the first time that a problem of this size was solved near to the optimality. .