Limited integrated production scheduling and vehicle routing in the steel industry

This paper proposes a limited integrated production and distribution scheduling method that is in line with the reality of the steel industry with long order fulfillment cycles, diverse order components, and long, complex processes. We develop a heuristic solution procedure based on a simulated annealing framework to solve the limited integrated production scheduling and vehicle routing problem (IPSVRP), and we verify the effectiveness of the limited integration method and algorithm through a large number of numerical experiments. The final production plan thus obtained differs at most slightly from the original production plan prepared by the production department. It not only takes advantage of the institutional and economic strengths of the integrated approach compared to independent decisions on production and distribution, but also avoids the problem that the production plan is strongly affected by factors such as the basic conditions of vehicles and logistics in the traditional IPSVRP. Sensitivity analyses of the limited integration level and integration cost, as well as explorations of planning cycle formulation and delivery strategy design under the limited integration framework, can provide insights into the planning and operation of long-process manufacturing enterprises.