Application of Tabu Search to a Special Class of Multicommodity Distribution Systems

Multicommodity distribution problem is one of the most interesting and useful models in mathematical programming due to its major role in distribution networks. The purpose of this paper is to describe and solve a special class of multicommodity distribution problems in which shipment of a commodity from a plant to a customer would go through different distribution centers. The problem is to determine which distribution centers to use so that all customer demands are satisfied, production capacities are not exceeded, and the total distribution cost is minimized.The proposed problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear program and a solution technique based on tabu search is developed, implemented and successfully applied to the test problems. Keywords: Commodity Distribution Systems, Tabu Search, Mathematical Programming