CROSS-DOCKING TRANSSHIPMENT PROBLEM APPROACHED BY NON LINEAR PROGRAMMING AND SIMULATION ANALYSIS

The need for fast product delivery causes the attention of supply chain is addressed to strategies able to optimize the distribution process. In this field the crossdocking seems to be an efficient strategy which makes possible to reduce or eliminate the storage phase by meeting customer demand. In this paper a transshipment problem for cross-docking strategy is considered by means of a deterministic model studied through the non linear programming technique. The solution found allows to determine the optimal quantities to ship, the number of routes activated and the optimal truck number when the constraint on truck capacity is enforced. The influence of the demand fluctuation is also addressed through a simulation tool representing the cross-docking system. Finally the comparison between the cross-docking strategy and the direct delivery one is considered in terms of cost efficiency and trucks utilization.