Strategic supply chain design for an Austrian winter road service provider

Snowplow operations are critical for public safety and economic success in countries where difficult driving conditions occur in winter. Specifically, the salt supply ensuring good driving conditions is a crucial factor. In this paper, the strategic supply chain design of a winter service provider in Austria is investigated. Two research directions on the influence of bigger and fewer salt silos per depot and the logistic costs for a unique summer salt purchasing strategy are addressed applying two independent solution approaches. On the same data basis, a simulation model is developed and a mixed integer linear problem is applied to answer the respective research questions. The first study shows that the current depot availability is quite good but that bigger and fewer salt silos per depot could be a risk. Finally, the second study shows the logistic costs for the unique summer salt purchasing strategy and the optimal salt warehouse locations.