Abstract

This research develops a mathematical model for a multi-echelon downstream supply chain. Due to the complicated structure of multi-echelon supply chain management, a specific number of factors have been considered to determine the optimum transportation cost. The mathematical model presented in this study gives an optimum way to determine the transportation cost for a multi-echelon downstream supply chain. The proposed model is applicable for single product manufacturing industries. This research aims to optimize the total transportation cost during the shipment. A Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model is utilized to find out the optimum solution. GAMS (Generic Algebraic Modeling System) algorithm is applied to execute the model in GAMS software. Two different solvers in GAMS like CPLEX and XPRESS are demonstrated on a downstream supply chain for a cement manufacturing industry. At the end of the study, the industry's optimum transportation cost is estimated using the formulated model. The generic assumptions and comparison of the two solvers are demonstrated in this research.