A MILP model for joint product family and supply chain design

This paper tackles the difficult problem of joint family product and supply chain design. This issue attracted more and more attention in the recent years. In this paper, we propose a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP) model which integrates product, sub-assembly and component substitution possibilities to a supply chain design model. First, the problem is described, notions of supply chain and product substitution are explained. The concept of substitution is discussed and illustrated. Then we present the MILP which includes joint product and supply chain optimization. Finally, experiments characterize the complexity of the problem through the comparison of the resolution length and efficiency with and without substitution.