A new multi-objective mathematical model for a Citrus supply chain network design: Metaheuristic algorithms

Nowadays, the citrus supply chain has been motivated by both industrial practitioners and researchers due to several real-world applications. This study considers a four-echelon citrus supply chain, consisting of gardeners, distribution centers, citrus storage, and fruit market. A Mixed Integer Non-Linear Programming (MINLP) model is formulated, which seeks to minimize the total cost and maximize the profit of the Citrus supply chain network. Due to the complexity of the model when considering large-scale samples, two well-known meta-heuristic algorithms such as Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithms have been utilized. Additionally, a new multi-objective ACO algorithm based on a set of non-dominated solutions form the Pareto frontier developed to solve the mathematical model. An extensive comparison based on different measurements analyzed to find a performance solution for the developed problem in the three sizes (small, medium, and large-scale). Finally, the various outcomes of numerical experiments indicate that the MOACO algorithm is more reliable than other algorithms.