A multiobjective coalition formation in facility and fleet sharing for resilient horizontal supply chain collaboration

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on studying the collaborative facility and fleet sharing among firms operating at the same horizontal layer of a supply network and investigate the benefits derived from forming coalitions. Our research considers a two-echelon network setting where a group of suppliers operates multiple distribution centers and serves common retailers. The primary objective of the firms is to reduce costs through horizontal collaboration by sharing capacity and fleet resources. This collaboration not only leads to cost savings but also contributes to reducing the carbon footprint, promoting more sustainable operations. However, it is important to acknowledge that some firms highly value their internal delivery fleet and aim to maintain a certain level of service by utilizing their own resources whenever possible. To address this, we model the problem as a multiobjective cooperative game, aiming to find acceptable trade-off solutions that satisfy the preferences of the different suppliers. Our proposed research aims to assist the decision makers in answering three critical questions: (1) What is the value or worth of forming a coalition? (2) Which players should collaborate with each other? (3) How should costs be allocated among the players within a coalition? To address these questions, we integrate a comprehensive framework that generates optimal coalition structures and compare different cost allocation schemes: proportional allocation, Shapley value, the core and the nucleolus. These schemes provide decision makers with different approaches to distributing costs among coalition members. To further validate the effectiveness of our approach, we present a real application inspired by the beverage industry in Lebanon. The results of our analysis demonstrate significant opportunities for cost savings as evidenced by the 28% reduction in cost. Additionally, these findings suggest the potential for more sustainable operations, with the possibility of utilizing 40% fewer vehicles. Our research contributes to enhancing the collaboration process in terms of cost reduction and resource optimization. This collaboration can as well strengthens supply chain resilience and plays a role in fostering sustainability in transportation. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.