A continuous model for production–distribution system design

The production–distribution system design problem involves decisions concerning the structure of a firm's supply chain. An overwhelming majority of the literature uses mixed integer programming formulations in representing such facility design decisions. In this paper, we present an alternative modeling framework, which is based on the use of continuous functions to represent spatial distributions of cost and customer demand. The proposed continuous model allows the derivation of a number of insights about the impact of problem parameters on facility design decisions. It is proposed that discrete and continuous modeling approaches complement each other.