This book grew out
a number of distribution and logistics graduate courses we have taught over the
last ten years. In the first few years, the emphasis was on very basic models
such as the traveling salesman problem, and on the seminal papers of Haimovich and
Rinnooy Kan (1985), which analyzed a simple vehicle routing problem, and Roundy
(1985), which introduced power-of-two policies and proved that they are
effective for the one warehouse multi-retailer distribution system. At that
time, few results existed for more complex, realistic distribution problems, stochastic
inventory problems or the integration of these issues.
In the last few
years however, there has been renewed interest in the area of logistics among
both industry and academia. A number of forces have contributed to this shift.
First, industry has realized the magnitude of savings that can be achieved by
better planning and management of complex logistics systems. Indeed, a striking
example is Wal-Mart’s success story which is partly attributed to implementing
a new logistics strategy, called cross-docking. Second, advances in information
and communication technologies together with sophisticated decision support
systems now make it possible to design, implement and control logistics strategies
that reduce system-wide costs and improve service level. These decision support
systems, with their increasingly user-friendly interfaces, are fundamentally changing
the management of logistics systems.
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