A multi-objective optimisation model for cooperative supply chain planning

Generally, each member of a supply chain (SC) optimises his own individual objective and accordingly, plans his activities (e.g. production operations, inventories) without considering a global perspective. The goal of this work is the development of a multi‐objective optimisation model for cooperative planning between different manufacturing plants belonging to the same SC. The model aims at minimising simultaneously the total production cost and the average of inventory level for several items and over a multi‐period horizon. To solve this problem, a non‐dominated sorting elitist genetic algorithm (NSGA‐II) is developed to derive the Pareto front solutions. Several tests are developed to show the performance of the solution method and the behaviour of the cooperative planning model with respect to different demand patterns. The proposed model shows high performance in the tested cases with comparison to the literature.