Reconsidering the distribution structure of gasoline products for a large oil company

In this paper we report on a three week consultancy study that has been carried out for a large oil company. The oil company wanted to redesign its distribution structure in the Netherlands. In particular the operations related to the delivery of gasoline and diesel oil between depots and clients (gasoline stations and others) had to be reconsidered with respect to: (i) the assignment of clients to depots (i.e. which gasoline station to deliver from which depot), (ii) the arrangements with the depot holders on the minimum and maximum yearly throughput of gasoline through the depots, (iii) the number and size of the gasoline trucks required to carry out transportation between depots and clients, (iv) the number of shifts and the length of the shifts in which truck drivers should operate. Here we present the hierarchical approach that we developed in order to advise the oil company on the redesign of its distribution network with respect to the above-mentioned elements.