M.Ing. (Engineering Management) / Globally, Logistics and Supply Chains play important roles; and they contribute immensely to the economy of a nation. The purpose of this research is to investigate and how logistics and supply chains management were implemented in a cement factory in Nigeria. Through the investigation, it was confirmed that Cement Company based their logistical system only on a road-link transport system to deliver their product to their customers or end-users, whereas in today’s technology, there are many ways in which logistics can be implemented. Therefore, this research was conducted, in order to do investigate while other logistical systems have not been actively used. The resultant findings are going to be used to address the problem. According to the investigation, it was found that 73.3% of the questionnaire respondents still prefer to use the road-link logistical system. There is a railway infrastructure in place from one point to another. However, the rail system logistics cannot be implemented because the railway infrastructure is obsolete. A new infrastructure will have to be put in place; and this is going to be costly. Apart from addressing the issue, this research also identify some possible hazards that could arise from using a road logistical system alone, such as the wastage of products, when accidents take place. There needs to be an elimination or reduction in the traffic congestion along the highway. It is also necessary to reduce the environmental pollution. Furthermore, apart from the point mentioned above, other logistical systems could be cheaper, safer and easier to maintain, compared with the Road only. Strong collaboration with logistical and supply-chain professional expertise would be required, in order to have a modern logistical system for better results. Collaboration in the working environment plays a role, but involving expertise would make a strong contribution and be more effective.

Study project (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Liner shipping supplies a frequent scheduled transport service between designated ports to meet the needs of importers and exporters. Those needs are becoming more specific as a result of increasing competition attributable to globalisation of trade while importers and exporters are requiring more exacting services from the liner operators. The elements of service which most concern the importers and exporters are obviously the costs they must bear for the conveyance of the cargo and the time taken for its delivery. In order to meet the requirements of importers and exporters and at the same time enable the operators of the services to remain in business in the face of increasing competition within the industry, liner shipping worldwide is undergoing major changes. These changes are intended to increase the economies of scale and to extend control of the liner operators over the landside transport services. A discussion on liner shipping and current developments is contained in Chapter 3. Liner shipping plays an indispensable role in the economy of South Africa because almost 50% by value of South African imports are containerised. That equates to 8% of South African imports by volume (Moving South Africa: 1998), although it must be borne in mind that some of the cargo moving through South African ports is ultimately destined for countries in SADC (Southern African Development Community). According to Drewry Shipping Consultants, containerised cargo worldwide has been growing at the rate of about 8% per annum since 1980 and the South African trade has experienced a similarly high growth. The actual transport of containers, by sea is only one of the elements in the transport logistics supply chain (TLSC) between exporters in one country and importers in another with which liner operators must concern themselves. A conceptual background explaining the entire TLSC is provided in Chapter 2. In that chapter, the TLSe is defined and two models are used to identify key elements of the TLSC as well as interaction between them. Inefficiencies existing in individual elements of the TLSC as well as suggested solutions to the underlying problems are discussed in Chapter 4. Emphasis is placed on the need to use information technology as a vehicle to integrate the individual elements of the TLSe and as a means of saving costs and time. A discussion of the economic benefits of an efficient TLSe is contained in Chapter 5, while Chapter 6 includes a discussion on local and regional developments that have a bearing on the efficiency of the TLSe. The conclusions of the study together with recommended action are contained in Chapter 7. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Lynvaart bied 'n gereeld geskeduleerde vervoerdiens tussen bepaalde hawens om in die behoeftes van in- en uitvoerders te voorsien. Weens toenemende mededinging voortspruitend uit die globalisering van handel, raak hierdie behoeftes egter al hoe veeleisender, terwyl in- en uitvoerders ook al hoe meer eise begin stel aan die gehalte van die diens wat deur lynvaartoperateurs gelewer word. Die elemente van hierdie diens waarby in- en uitvoerders die grootste belang het, is uiteraard die koste en die tyd verbonde aan vragverskeping. Om aan die vereistes van in- en uitvoerders te voldoen en dit terselfdertyd vir operateurs moontlik te maak om hul besighede te midde van toenemende mededinging in die industrie te bly bedryf, is die lynvaartbedryf wereldwyd besig om groot veranderinge te ondergaan. Hierdie veranderinge is bedoel om skaalvoordele te verbeter en lynvaartoperateurs se beheer oor vervoerdienste aan land uit te brei. Lynvaart en huidige ontwikkelinge in die bedryf word in Hoofstuk 3 bepreek. Lynvaart speel 'n onontbeerlike rol in Suid-Afrika se ekonomie omdat ongeveer 50% van die waarde van Suid-Afrika se invoere in houers vervoer word. Dit is gelyk aan 8% van Suid-Afrika se invoere per volume (Moving South Africa: 1998), alhoewel daar ook in gedagte gehou moet word dat 'n gedeelte van die vrag wat deur Suid-Afrikaanse hawens beweeg, uiteindelik bestem is vir lande in die SAOG (Suider-Afrikaanse Onwikkelingsgemeenskap). Volgense Drewry Skeepskonsultante, groei die vervoer van houerverskeping sedert 1980 teen 'n tempo van ongeveer 8% per jaar, en het die Suid-Afrikaanse handel 'n soortgelyke hoe groeikoers ondervind. Die werklike verskeping van houers is net een van die elemente in die vervoerlogistiekvoorsieningsketting (VL VK) tussen uitvoerders in een land en invoerders in 'n ander land waarmee lynvaartoperateurs rekening moet hou. 'n Konseptuele raamwerk wat die VLVK in die geheel verduidelik, verskyn in Hoofstuk 2. Die VLVK word ook in hierdie hoofstuk gedefinieer en twee modelle word gebruik om elemente daarvan asook die interaksie tussen daardie elemente te identifiseer. Die ontoereikendheid van individuele elemente van die VLVK asook moontlike oplossings vir die onderliggende probleme word in Hoofstuk 4 bespreek. Klem word geplaas op die noodsaaklikheid om informasietegnologie te gebruik om die individuele elemente van die VLVK te integreer ten einde tyd en koste te bespaar. Die ekonomiese voordele van 'n doeltreffende VLVK word in Hoofstuk 5 bespreek, terwyl Hoofstuk 6 handel oor plaaslike en streeksonwikkelinge wat die VLVK se doeltreffendheid beinvloed. Die gevolgtrek

M. Tech. (Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology) Vaal University of Technology| / Implementing either periodic or continuous inventory review model within most manufacturing-companies-supply chains, as a management tool, incurs higher costs. These high costs affect the system flexibility which in turn affects the level of service required to satisfy customers. However, these effects are not clearly understood. This may be due to the fact that lead time and demand which are important input parameters of the manufacturing supply chain are not designed to be fully utilized under different and uncertain conditions such as seasonality, poor manufacturing, poor supplies and delivery performance, etc. Coming up with a hybrid inventory model which may combine, in some sense a continuous (r, Q) and a periodic (R, S) inventory review models can be useful in dealing with such problem. Therefore, more attention should be first devoted to formulating accurate models for lead time and demand that incorporate uncertainty. This study presents a simulation based approach that assesses the effect of uncertainty on the cost of implementing a continuous (r, Q), periodic (R, S) and hybrid inventory review models while considering appropriate constraint such as customer service and system flexibility. The stochastic representations of demand and lead time are proposed and used in the simulation models. Results reveal that under a unique situation, implementing a continuous (r, Q) inventory review model may cause manager to under-budget while the use of a periodic (R, S) inventory review models may lead to over budget and vice versa. Further investigation shows that the cost of implementing the hybrid inventory model, although higher at the beginning of operation, seems to be the most cost effective one over time. The result also reveal optimal re-order point path and optimal review interval path which when followed, should lead to optimal inventory cost path as demand and lead time fluctuate. Thus, a management guide is proposed that can be used by managers in making inventory decision.

Manufacturing outsourcing in the U.S. has never been stronger than it is today. Increased outsourcing has led to significant changes in the design of the retail distribution network. While the traditional distribution network had the manufacturing plants supplying goods to the retail stores directly, the off-shore manufacturing has increased the network's demand for transportation and warehousing to deliver the goods. Thus, most companies have a complex distribution network with several import and regional distribution centers (RDC). In this thesis, we study an integrated facility location and inventory allocation problem for designing a distribution network with multiple national (import) distribution centers (NDC) and retailers. The key decisions are where to locate the RDCs and how much inventory to hold at the different locations such that the total network cost is minimized under a pre-defined operational rule for the distribution of goods. In particular, the inventory cost analysis is based on the continuous review batch ordering policy and the base-stock policy. Both Type-I (probability of stock-outs) and Type-II (fill-rate) service level measures are used in the analysis. Two different models are presented in this thesis for solving the integrated facility location-inventory allocation problem. The first model, continuous approximation (CA), assumes the distribution network to be located in a continuous region and replaces the discrete store locations with a store density function. The second model is a discrete representation of the problem as a mixed integer programming problem. Both the models take a nonlinear form and solution techniques are developed using the theory of nonlinear programming and linear reformulation of nonlinear problems. The goal of the first part of the thesis is to model the problem using a modified CA approach and an iterative solution scheme is presented to solve it. The main contribution of this work lies in developing a refined CA modeling technique when the discrete data cannot be modeled by a continuous function. In addition, the numerical analysis suggests that the total network cost is significantly lower in the case of the integrated model as compared with the non-integrated model. It is also shown that the regular CA approach leads to a solution which is inferior to the solution obtained by the modified CA approach. Our analysis shows that the type of service measure used affects the network design. In the second part of the thesis, the problem is modeled as a nonlinear mixed integer program and a linear reformulation solution technique is proposed to obtain a lower bound on the original problem. Computational results are presented for small problem instances. We conclude this part of the thesis by presenting an integrated model when a base stock inventory policy is used. A drop-decomposition heuristic is proposed to solve this problem.

Due to the significant cost of transport in the sugar industry, a model, named FastTrack, was developed to investigate infrastructure planning opportunities. The model mathematically incorporates road construction and maintenance costs, terrain and land-use maps, vehicle performance specifications and annual sugarcane volumes to determine the most cost effective route, per vehicle type, from a production region to a mill. Route planning using geographical information systems (GIS) is a standard approach for determining the optimum alignment for pipelines, roads and canals. Theory of this approach was reviewed to create a foundation for the development of FastTrack. A small portion of the Noodsberg sugar mill region in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands was selected as a case study area to test the capabilities of FastTrack. A start location was identified as a natural flow point for 70 000 tons of sugarcane hauled from an area south of the mill. Currently this volume is transported along a 9.3 km stretch of national road from the start location to the sugar mill, while the Euclidean distance is approximately 7 km. Three vehicle types, differing in payload, fuel consumption and road speed were assessed. Two common and currently utilised vehicles, the tractor hilo and interlink combinations, were aligned by FastTrack along existing national roads. A financial penalty for driving on national roads was assumed for the third vehicle type considered, land trains, as these are currently not permitted to operate on national roads in South Africa. This high bulk vehicle was selected to test the capabilities of FastTrack and to identify if cost savings could be realised through increased consignment capacity as has been achieved in Australia, Malawi and Brazil. Utilising the model a new and more direct theoretical route was generated for the land train with a length of 7.4 km. Existing farm roads which would require upgrading made up 34 % of this proposed route. An economic analysis was conducted and showed that under current conditions, the private route generated by FastTrack for land train use, would be the most cost effective, with a system cost of R 57.50 t" . The tractor hilo and interlink had system costs of R 59.58 t" and R 60.98 t"1 respectively. Repeating the economic analysis with projected fuel prices indentified that the cost saving advantage of the land train system over the other two vehicle configurations increases with increasing fuel costs. A rigorous validation process, including a sensitivity analysis of results from FastTrack, revealed that the model performs predictably under a wide range of input conditions and could be a valuable tool for decision making in the sugar industry. However, further research is required to combine more economic and logistical aspects into FastTrack and to increase its usability. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

In this thesis, we investigate synergies between participants in transportation and distribution systems and we explore collaborative approaches to exploit these synergies to reduce transportation and distribution costs. We study collaboration in two environments: truckload transportation and vendor management inventory replenishment. The first part of the thesis addresses the cost allocation problem of a collaborative truckload transportation procurement network. We study a logistics network where shippers identify collaborative routes with few empty truck movements to negotiate better rates with a common carrier. We investigate how to allocate the cost savings of these routes among the members of the collaboration. In the second part of the thesis, we investigate collaboration opportunities among carriers. When several carriers have to satisfy truckload transportation requests from various shippers, they may reduce their transportation costs by exchanging requests. First, we focus on computing the minimum cost to satisfy all requests. Next, we develop and analyze various exchange mechanisms that allow carriers to exchange requests in order to realize some of the potential costs savings. In the last part of the thesis, we study VMI replenishment. Simple cost allocation methods ignore synergies between the customers, due to their locations, usage rates, and storage capacities. As a result, the price charged to a customer for distribution does not represent the actual cost of serving that customer. We design a mechanism capable of computing a cost-to-serve for each customer that properly accounts for the synergies among customers.

This dissertation contains two topics in operations research. The first topic is to design a distribution network to facilitate the repeated movement of shipments from many origins to many destinations. A method is developed to estimate transportation costs as a function of the number of terminals and moreover to determine the best number of terminals. The second topic is to study dynamics of a buyer's behavior when the buyer can buy goods through both option contracts and a spot market and the buyer attempts to learn the probability distribution of the spot price. The buyer estimates the spot price distribution as though it is exogenous. However, the spot price distribution is not exogenous but is endogenous because it is affected by the buyer's decision regarding option purchases.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: United National Breweries (SA) (PTY) Limited (UNB) has been manufacturing, marketing and distributing sorghum beer for the last twenty years. Sorghum beer has a short shelf life of five days and hence requires an integrated and efficient distribution system to back its production and marketing. Though the company has changed owners twice during this period, it has retained its knowledge base. The company has outgrown most of its competitors over the last four years, however in order to maintain its leadership, it has identified better market penetration through improved distribution as a major area of opportunity. Almost seventy percent of UNB products are sold and consumed in the townships. These products are almost exclusively consumed by black South Africans. The analysis done by the company on the basis of population and market segmentation indicates that the maximum opportunity of product growth lies in townships most of which are affected by high level of crime. KwaMashu is one such township in Durban. B B Bakeries (BBB) has been manufacturing, marketing and distributing bread in most provinces of South Africa. They are part of Premier Foods. Though their business has been growing in KwaZulu Natal for the last three years, they have been focussing on improving distribution in these markets. Bread, like sorghum has a short shelf life and hence depends heavily on an effective and efficient distribution system. New product variations are also being explored to gain more market share. The aim of this study project was the development of an effective physical distribution system for short shelf life products in crime affected KwaMashu township. “An analysis of the external environment is undertaken to discover the opportunities and threats that are evolving and that need to be addressed by the organization” (Drummond & Ensor; 2005: 33). The external environment for analysis was broken down into three key steps, each becoming more specific to the organization. The first step was an analysis of the macro- environmental influences that the organization faces. This was followed by an examination of the competitive environment the organization operates within and for this Porter’ five forces model was chosen. Finally the integration of such inputs which emerged out of the social environment, business understanding and empirical data was done to come up with a comprehensive strategy. The departure point was the analysis of the characteristics of the environment prevailing in the township. These included study of crime, inputs from police and community policing forum, needs of informal businesses, role of locals to the trade, their possible impact on thefts and hijackings and changes if any envisaged in the near future. The outcome of the study addresses the penetration of the retail segment despite the crime environment. It had to take risk to vehicles, staff and cash while planning distribution while ensuring that the company maintains a hold on the retail market to a reasonable degree. Company’ future growth plans which included new product introductions also had to be taken into account. Out of the possible alternatives, the outsourcing of distribution to local vendor drivers was recommended. Practical guidelines regarding the implementation of such a system keeping in view the unique environment, in which business is conducted, were discussed. Recommendations were made keeping such challenges in view while also supporting the company’ current and future plans. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: United National Breweries (SA) (PTY) Beperk (UNB) vervaardig, bemark en versprei sorghum bier vir die afgelope twintig jaar. Sorghum bier het ‘n kort rakleeftyd van vyf dae and vereis dus ‘n geïntegreerde en effektiewe verspreidingstelsel om die produksie en bemarking te rugsteun. Alhoewel die maatskappy twee keer van eienaars verwissel het oor die afgelope vier jaar, het die kennisbasis behoue gebly. Die maatskappy het die meeste van sy kompetisie ontgroei oor die afgelope vier jaar maar om voor te bly is markpenetrasie deur verbeterde verspreiding as ‘n belangrike geleentheid gedefiniëer. Byna sewentig persent van UNB se produkte word verkoop en verbruik in swart woongebiede. Hierdie produkte word byna uitsluitlik verbruik deur swart Suid- Afrikaners. Die analise wat die maatskappy on die basis van die bevolking en marksegmentasie gedoen het dui aan dat die maksimum groeipotensiaal in juis in dié swart woonbuurte lê wat deur hoë vlakke van kriminaliteit geaffekteer word. KwaMashu is een so ‘n woonbuurt in Durban. BB Bakeries (BBB) produseer, bemark en versprei brood in die meeste provinsies van Suid-Afrika. Die maatskappy is deel van Premier Foods. Alhoewel die besigheid in KwaZulu Natal gegroei het oor die afgelope drie jaar, het hulle ook gefokus op die verbetering van verspreiding in hierdie markte. Brood is ‘n kommoditeit wat net soos sorghum bier, ‘n kort rakleeftyd het en dus afhanklik is van effektiewe en suksesvolle verspeidingsisteme. Nuwe produktvariasie word ook ondersoek ten einde groter markaandeel te verkry. Die doel van die studie is om die ontwikkeling van fisiese verspreidingsisteme vir kort rakleeftydprodukte in die kriminaliteit geaffekteerde KwaMashu woongebied. “An analysis of the external environment is undertaken in order to discover the opportunities and threats that are evolving and that need to be addressed by the organization” (Drummond & Ensor 2005:33). ‘n Analise van die eksterne omgewing moet afgebreek word in drie sleutel stappe waarvan elkeen telkens meer spesifiek op die organisasie toegespits word. Die eerste stap is die analise van die makroekonomiese faktore wat die organisasie beïnvloed. Dit word opgevolg deur ‘n ondersoek van die kompetisie (mikro) omgewing waarbinne die organisasie sake doen. Hirvoor is Porter se bekende ‘five forces’ model gekies. Laastens word ‘n spesifieke kompeterende analise gedoen waarin die kragte wat voorspruit uit die sosiale omgewing, besigheidsbenadering en empiriese date geintegreer word vir ‘n omvattende strategie. Die vertrekpunt is die analise van die eienskappe van die omstandighede in ter sake swart woongebiede. Hierdie sluit die studie van kriminaliteit met polisie, gemeenskap en polisiëringsforums-perspektiewe, die behoeftes van informele besighede met die rol van plaaslike handelaars en hul impak op diefstal en skakings asook veranderings wat in die nabye toekoms geantisipeer word. Die resultaat van die studie het implikasies vir die deurdringingskrag van die kleinhandel ten spyte van die kriminaliteit in die omgewing. Risiko ten opsigte van voertuie, personeel en kontant moet in ag geneem word tydens verspreidingsbeplanning. Daar moet verseker word dat die maatskappy sy houvas op die kleinhandel mark tot ‘n redelike mate behou. Daarmee word die maatskappy se toekomstige groeiplanne met die invoer van nuwe produkte ondersteun. Van die moontlike alternatiewe word die uitkontraktering van plaaslike afleweraars aanbeveel. Praktiese riglyne vir die implimentering van sodanige sisteme word bespreek en aanbeveel in terme van die maatskappy se huidige en toekomstige beplanning.

Submitted by Maria de Lourdes Mariano (lmariano@ufscar.br) on 2017-02-24T18:09:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 SOTO_DE_LA_VEGA_Diego_2014.pdf: 73992036 bytes, checksum: fdf7a66d32485844fff894b41112d2b1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria de Lourdes Mariano (lmariano@ufscar.br) on 2017-02-24T18:10:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 SOTO_DE_LA_VEGA_Diego_2014.pdf: 73992036 bytes, checksum: fdf7a66d32485844fff894b41112d2b1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria de Lourdes Mariano (lmariano@ufscar.br) on 2017-02-24T18:10:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 SOTO_DE_LA_VEGA_Diego_2014.pdf: 73992036 bytes, checksum: fdf7a66d32485844fff894b41112d2b1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-24T18:10:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SOTO_DE_LA_VEGA_Diego_2014.pdf: 73992036 bytes, checksum: fdf7a66d32485844fff894b41112d2b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-01 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho apresenta uma abordagem multi-metodológica de otimização e análise multicritério para tratar o problema integrado de distribuição e estoque considerando múltiplos modos de transporte de carga. O sistema analisado fundamenta-se na rede de distribuição de uma empresa no setor de telecomunicações, cujas operações são típicas do setor. A rede de distribuição é composta por um conjunto de centros de distribuição que atendem as demandas de centros de distribuição regionais sobre um horizonte de planejamento de médio prazo. No transporte da mercadoria, os modos de transporte de carga completa (Full truckload -FTL) e fracionada (Less Than Truckload -LTL) foram considerados. Para uma carga completa, um valor fixo é constituído em função da capacidade do veículo utilizado, enquanto que para a carga fracionada, o custo é baseado na quantidade embarcada e na distância percorrida. As decisões do planejamento da distribuição neste problema envolvem definir as quantidades e datas de envio desde cada origem para cada destino indicando o modo de transporte de carga utilizado, para carga completa deve se definir ainda o tipo de veículo, considerando uma frota heterogênea em custo e capacidade. Os estoques de segurança em cada centro de distribuição regional também devem ser determinados em função da variabilidade da demanda e dos tempos de atendimento, bem como o nível de serviço desejado. Estas decisões devem ser definidas de modo a minimizar os custos associados a transporte e estoque, e levando em conta critérios relevantes para o problema de difícil quantificação tais como: facilidade de rastreamento, histórico de desempenho, segurança da carga, disposição para negociar os fretes, serviços de documentação e faturamento, entre outros. Uma formulação matemática específica foi utilizada para geração de soluções e uma estrutura decisória construída através dos métodos SMART (Simple MultiAttribute Ranking Technique) e AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) permitiu avaliar estas alternativas. Um caso real foi abordado em uma empresa brasileira para testar a eficiência da abordagem em situações reais. Como resultado, a abordagem proposta permitiu analisar com robustez a decisão mais adequada segundo as preferências e aversão ao risco inerentes dos decisores da empresa. Neste sentido, conclui-se que a preferência dos decisores, direcionou a metodologia na proposição de um planejamento focado principalmente na eficiência, a rápida entrega e na confiabilidade dos tempos de atendimento. / Este trabalho apresenta uma abordagem multi-metodológica de otimização e análise multicritério para tratar o problema integrado de distribuição e estoque considerando múltiplos modos de transporte de carga. O sistema analisado fundamenta-se na rede de distribuição de uma empresa no setor de telecomunicações, cujas operações são típicas do setor. A rede de distribuição é composta por um conjunto de centros de distribuição que atendem as demandas de centros de distribuição regionais sobre um horizonte de planejamento de médio prazo. No transporte da mercadoria, os modos de transporte de carga completa (Full truckload -FTL) e fracionada (Less Than Truckload -LTL) foram considerados. Para uma carga completa, um valor fixo é constituído em função da capacidade do veículo utilizado, enquanto que para a carga fracionada, o custo é baseado na quantidade embarcada e na distância percorrida. As decisões do planejamento da distribuição neste problema envolvem definir as quantidades e datas de envio desde cada origem para cada destino indicando o modo de transporte de carga utilizado, para carga completa deve se definir ainda o tipo de veículo, considerando uma frota heterogênea em custo e capacidade. Os estoques de segurança em cada centro de distribuição regional também devem ser determinados em função da variabilidade da demanda e dos tempos de atendimento, bem como o nível de serviço desejado. Estas decisões devem ser definidas de modo a minimizar os custos associados a transporte e estoque, e levando em conta critérios relevantes para o problema de difícil quantificação tais como: facilidade de rastreamento, histórico de desempenho, segurança da carga, disposição para negociar os fretes, serviços de documentação e faturamento, entre outros. Uma formulação matemática específica foi utilizada para geração de soluções e uma estrutura decisória construída através dos métodos SMART (Simple MultiAttribute Ranking Technique) e AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) permitiu avaliar estas alternativas. Um caso real foi abordado em uma empresa brasileira para testar a eficiência da abordagem em situações reais. Como resultado, a abordagem proposta permitiu analisar com robustez a decisão mais adequada segundo as preferências e aversão ao risco inerentes dos decisores da empresa. Neste sentido, conclui-se que a preferência dos decisores, direcionou a metodologia na proposição de um planejamento focado principalmente na eficiência, a rápida entrega e na confiabilidade dos tempos de atendimento.