A two-stage model for transportation and distribution in disaster relief

Abstract

This paper proposes a two-stage integer programming model including depots to distribution centers and distribution centers to demand points. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in disaster recently. Since to predict the timing and magnitude of a disaster is difficult, the resource requirement is with randomness. Besides, information asymmetry exists in the two stages, so the demand may not be satisfied in time. Based on the principle “time is life”, the model aims to provide more items to demand points as little time as possible with limited transport capacity. We use C-W savings algorithm to generate the routes for distribution in order to solve the model effectively. And a case study is presented to illustrate the effectiveness and applicability at last.