A comprehensive review of integrated production and routing problems in supply chain

Purpose The integrated production and routing problems in a supply chain, commonly referred to as the production routing problem (PRP), combine lot-sizing and vehicle routing problems. PRP involves determining production schedules, quantities to produce and distribution plans to efficiently meet customer demands. This research aims to analyze the research background, identify current trends, track evolutions and propose future research directions for PRP. Design/methodology/approach This study employs descriptive analysis and a systematic literature review (SLR) to explore PRP literature. Software such as R Studio and Excel was used for the analysis. An SLR of 90 articles (1994–2023) was conducted, classifying the literature into themes and sub-themes, providing an evolution of PRP research and introducing a diagnostic framework for a firm's readiness. Findings Existing PRP review papers cover only 25% of the literature. This study fills the gap by offering a comprehensive review, categorizing PRP research into themes such as nature of demand, problem structure, solution methodologies, mathematical formulations, software tools and applications. The review also identifies sub-themes, including vehicle routing problem variants, environmental and reverse logistics, inbound logistics, multiple objectives and multi-echelon. The study also traces the evolution of PRP literature and solution methodologies. Originality/value This study makes a significant contribution by identifying current trends, mapping the literature into various themes and sub-themes, introducing a diagnostic framework to assess firm readiness for PRP adoption and presenting PRP evolution from 1994 to 2023. It also outlines future research directions and theoretical and managerial implications for scholars and practitioners in the field of PRP.