An integrated model for the production-inventory-distribution problem in the Physical Internet

In contrast to traditional supply chain networks, Physical Internet (PI) is an interconnected open global logistics network based on open PI hubs and standard PI-containers that has the potential to achieve ground-breaking improvements in integrated production-inventory-distribution management. In this paper, to quantify the advantages of PI from a cost performance perspective, we propose a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for addressing the problem that combines an integrated production-inventory-distribution decision with PI, which has been addressed separately in the existing literature. The results of computational experiments show that while achieving a comparable or better service level, PI can achieve significant cost savings compared to a traditional supply chain network with a dynamic configuration and a hybrid configuration. Moreover, we investigate the impact of several problem parameter changes on the total costs under each network setting, and managerial insights are derived.