Performance evaluation of logistics systems under cost and reliability considerations

In this article, both distribution cost and delivery reliability are integrated into performance index R-sb,R-d of logistics systems. The total distribution cost is not to exceed budget $b, the delivery reliability is the probability that the source distributes a demand d successfully to the destination. A major contribution is that we present a hybrid approach for straightforward computation of the R-sb,R-d. As of now, it is the only algorithm that can compute R-sb,R-d directly and practically. A real logistics system illustrates the proposed algorithm. In addition, computational results indicate that our algorithm outperforms existing algorithms. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.