Model Proposal for Ammunition Demand Forecasting and Ammunition Distribution Network Design: Military Unit Application

Abstract

During the war, the safe provision of the required ammunition at the desired place and time can affect the fate of the war and even the country. Determining the amount of ammunition to be needed in the war is as important as planning its distribution. Two problems are important research topics in the field of military logistics. A two-stage methodology is presented in the study to solve these problems. In the first stage, an analytical approach based on suitability tests is presented to estimate the amount of ammunition that military artillery units will need based on past general data, and ammunition requirements for possible battles are estimated. In the second stage, a distribution network design is carried out for the distribution of ammunition from the ammunition depot to the deployed artillery units. This distribution network also includes reverse logistics activities, as it is necessary to collect the waste left by the ammunition used by the artillery units. In order to achieve this in the study, a Multi-Period Multi Depot Simultaneous Pick Up&Delivery Vehicle Routing Problem Model has been developed. The results obtained as a result of the solution of the model have been examined in detail and analyzed by comparing with the current situation.