A Bi-Objective Integrated Mathematical Model for Blood Supply Chain: Case of Turkish Red Crescent

Abstract

Various criteria feature in blood supply chain (BSC) designs, where cost-based and time-based are the most commonly found in the literature. In the current study, total annual cost is used together with a new time-based objective. The total time spent in the transportation of blood products is considered as time lost, and weight is given to that time according to the product amount and then normalized with respect to shelf life. In using cost and time objectives, we developed a bi-objective mixed-integer mathematical programming model for the BSC of Turkish Red Crescent (TRC, the singular authority controlling BSC throughout Turkey), including collection, production, and distribution echelons, and also considering bag-type decisions for whole-blood collection. The objective of the study was to propose a BSC design model and solution approach. With all real-life TRC instances resolved optimally, a linear programming relaxation-based heuristic was developed for large-scale problem sizes. Real-life data were obtained from the TRC and the remainder from open-to-public sources. The study's main finding is that cost and time objectives alone produce significantly different designs, whilst using them together to form efficient-frontier solutions for decision-makers adds practical value.