Location of a distribution center for a perishable product

A model that combines an inventory and location decision is presented, analyzed and solved. In particular, we consider a single distribution center location that serves a finite number of sales outlets for a perishable product. The total cost to be minimized, consists of the transportation costs from the distribution center to the sales outlets as well as the inventory related costs at the sales outlets. The location of the distribution center affects the inventory policy. Very efficient solution approaches for the location problem in a planar environment are developed. Computational experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed solution approaches.