An integrated algorithm for solving multi-customer joint replenishment problem with districting consideration

This paper studies a multi-customer joint replenishment problem with districting consideration (MJRPDC) which is of particular importance to a company that outsources its transportation and delivery operations to a third-party logistics (3PL) service provider. To solve the problem, we first propose an innovative search algorithm for solving the traditional multi-customer joint replenishment problem in a given zone. Then we design a GA-based framework to handle the corresponding districting problem based on the performance of each district evaluated by using the proposed search algorithm. The proposed methodologies are demonstrated by using an example of solving MJRPDC for a bank.