A Mixed Integer Programming Model to Investigate Optimal Nutritional Medicine Distribution Channel Configuration

• Main Authors: Zong-You Chen, 陳宗佑
• Other Authors: Ping-Yu Chang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/8at6z6

碩士 === 明志科技大學 === 工業工程與管理系碩士班 === 103 === In recent years, the improvement of incomes and medical technologies have extended humans life which also results in elder society and increasing demand of nutritional medicine. According to the governmental market reports, Taiwanese usually buy nutritional medicine in Brick-and-Mortar stores which can be categorized into direct chain stores and retailers. Although the reports show the importance of physical distribution channel, the configuration of the physical distribution channel is usually based on the cost of the store location and retailers cooperation. The configuration based on the cost and cooperation will result in multiple direct chain store and retailers only serve one demand point. An optimal configuration should not only based on the cost and cooperation but should consider the demand location and future sale opportunities. Therefore, this research investigates the optimal distribution channel configuration using mixed integer programming. The result show that price and service distance have the most significant impact on the distribution channel configuration direct chain stores will be preferred with low price and long service distance.