Cuckoo search via Levy flights applied to uncapacitated facility location problem

Abstract

Facility location problem (FLP) is a mathematical way to optimally locate facilities within a set of candidates to satisfy the requirements of a given set of clients. This study addressed the uncapacitated FLP as it assures that the capacity of every selected facility is finite. Thus, even if the demand is not known, which often is the case, in reality, organizations may still be able to take strategic decisions such as locating the facilities. There are different approaches relevant to the uncapacitated FLP. Here, the cuckoo search via Lévy flight (CS-LF) was used to solve the problem. Though hybrid methods produce better results, this study employed CS-LF to determine first its potential in finding solutions for the problem, particularly when applied to a real-world problem. The method was applied to the data set obtained from a department store in Davao City, Philippines. Results showed that applying CS-LF yielded better facility locations compared to particle swarm optimization and other existing algorithms. Although these results showed that CS-LF is a promising method to solve this particular problem, further studies on other FLP are recommended to establish a strong foundation of the capability of CS-LF in solving FLP.