A Local Network-Based Approach for Collaborative Product Allocation in N-Tier Distributed Network

To solve the conflict between high inventory and low customer service level in a n-tier complex distributed network, the problem of collaborative product allocation aligned forward logistics and same-level logistics was studied in this paper. A local network-based approach was proposed, which constructs a local network by allocable nodes in adjacent tiers, then solves from the lower tier to the upper tier through the local network, and thus the product allocation strategies for the n-tier complex distributed network are gotten. For a local network, the relevant directed weighted bipartite graph was built, and this graph was translated into the network flow model in order to acquire the optimal allocation solution. An example was given for illustrating the solving approach.