Product and supply chain design using a taboo search

An assemble to order policy considers a tradoff between the size of product portfolio and assembly lead time. The concept of modular design is often used to implement the assemble to order policy. Modular design impacts assembly of products and the supply chain. In particular storage, transportation and production are affected by the selected modular structure. For a determined assembly lead time, a module composition that minimizes assembly and production costs is difficult to establish. This problem is highly combinatorial, it is not achievable to look for an optimal solution. This article proposes a challenging modeling approach that consists in selecting a set of modules to be manufactured in distant facilities and shipped in a nearby location plant for a final assembly operation under time limits. A taboo search resolution approach is then investigated. Computational results showed that this method is promising.