Locating service facilities whose reliability is distance dependent
We consider the problem where there is a probability, depending on the distance from the facility, that the facility may not be able to provide satisfactory service to a customer. This probability is equal to 0 at distance zero, and is a monotonically increasing function of the distance. We need to locate m facilities on a network such that the expected service level for all demand points combined, will be maximized. Alternatively, one can state the problem as minimizing the expected demand that will not get satisfactory service. The problem is formulated and properties of the solution are proved. Five metaheuristic algorithms are developed for its solution and are compared with computational results on a set of test problems. In order to be competitive, companies must provide satisfactory service to their customers. The level of service provided is very often related to the distance of customers from the service facilities. In this paper, we consider such a model where the probability that satisfactory service will be provided is a function of the distance from customers to the facilities. The closer the customers are to the facilities, the greater is the likelihood that satisfactory service will be provided (e.g. emergency response systems). The objective is to find the location of the facilities that maximize the expected demand that receives satisfactory service.
location service facilities reliability network distance-dependent demand worst case analysis