Blood supply chain: a two-stage approach for tactical and operational planning

This work proposes a new integer linear programming model for tactical and operational planning of the blood supply chain. A two-stage approach is developed with a first aggregated stage to establish tactical planning decisions and a second disaggregated stage for the operational level. The model considers multi-products, multi-periods and perishability in a large planning horizon. Inventory levels as well as waste of whole blood and blood-derived products are also modelled. A purchase flow is introduced to handle situations of not enough collection to satisfy demand. The objective is cost minimisation whilst reducing waste and dependence on other regions through purchase. A case study of the South Region of Portugal is explored, demonstrating the possibility of decreased dependency and waste by adjusting allocation of facilities and allowing a more even distribution of activities between processing centres. This is the first study of the kind ever conducted on the Portuguese blood supply chain.