2Department of Business Administration, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Türkiye
Abstract
In today’s global market, the international trade methods used in exports have great importance in terms of transportation, including pre-shipment, and post-shipment services due to their impact on buyers and senders. To carry out export operations at low costs and on time, models, that address the multi-depot, multi-product, and heterogeneous fleet vehicle routing problems, together with delivery methods and costs based on the responsibilities of the seller and buyer, are needed. In this study, a mixed integer programming model is presented for companies with production facilities and warehouses in different regions to carry out export operations using Incoterms delivery methods. The objective is to minimize total costs, including holding costs, transportation costs, and the costs associated with delivery terms (incoterms). The customer's distance from each depot, the various vehicle capacities, the number of vehicles in use, the holding costs at each depot, and the delivery terms (incoterms) are all taken into account during the modeling and solving process to find the best solutions. The results show that the model is applicable to exporting firms with a distribution network characterized by a multi-depot, multi-product, heterogeneous fleet.