An integrated approach to locate and allocate production and distribution sites by using simulation models

In spite of an increasing development of applied mathematics to the theory of location, just a few applications have been done about support to decision regarding the location of production and/or selling sites. This paper aims at localization of a firm, that will produce controlled leavening baking products, and its kiosks (selling points), displaced on a municipality area. To make the choice, it’s been considered the double function of the kiosk: it is a restocking point and it will be necessary to study the optimal path from the production point, that is considered known, to the kiosk itself; it is also a selling point, so it has to be located where it’s mostly perceived by the customers. The two choice dimensions, regarding an unique location, need the creation of a model able to represent the scenarios dynamism of reality. As the location of production points has been supposed known, it’s been studied the problem of kiosks location, by the optimization of attracting capacity and by minimizing the restocking cost from the production point. So, it’ been simulated a quantitative model to represent the choice behaviour of different categories customers to move in the urban area. The simulation model output gives the traffic flows on the network, where the production system (manufacturing and selling points) has been located. These results give also the inputs for a second model used to define the optimal paths on the same network. In this way, the choice model for the best path from production to selling point is able to consider the network loads. The interaction between the two models will also be useful to define the localization of the whole production system, estimating the dimension of each production and selling point.