An Uncertain Programming Model for Fixed Charge Transportation Problem with After-Sale Service

Abstract

This paper constructs an uncertain mathematical model for the fixed charge transportation problem in which several kinds of items are transported from different sources to various destinations via different methods. In addition, after-sale service such as product return and exchange that help to raise the customer’s satisfaction is considered during the trade to meet the reality. Meanwhile, some indeterministic factors may occur during the transportation process; probability theory is not the best option due to the lack of adequate historical data. In the light of this statement, some parameters like supplies, demands, return rate, and exchange rate are all defined as uncertain variables to formulate the uncertain programming model. After that, the equivalent deterministic models are derived with the help of uncertainty theory. Finally, some numerical experiments are implemented via three algorithms; the optimal values are displayed and compared to show the application of this problem. The study of this paper provides an applicable method for the decision maker.