Integrated Production and Outbound Distribution Scheduling: a hybrid framework

The integrated production and outbound distribution scheduling (IPODS) framework presented in this paper addresses the critical need for coordinated manufacturing and distribution in industrial engineering and supply chain management. The proposed solution employs the Ant Colony System (ACS) to optimize production scheduling and vehicle routing. The framework comprises four stages: production scheduling, order completion and patch formation, vehicle assignment, and vehicle routing with departure time optimization. Initially, ACS is utilized to determine optimal schedules for parallel machine production, minimizing overall production time. Subsequently, order completion times are calculated, and orders are grouped into patches to streamline logistics. These patches are then assigned to vehicles from an available fleet, ensuring efficient utilization and load balancing. Finally, ACS is applied to solve the vehicle routing problem, determining optimal routes and departure times to minimize travel costs and ensure timely deliveries. This framework enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of managing integrated production and distribution tasks, providing significant and improved operational performance.