Abstract
The present paper focuses on one of the most important issues in supply chain research: supply chain configuration and optimisation. The aim of this study is to propose a logistics network optimisation model, able to deal with a real life supply chain complexity, together with a series of methodological guidelines for gathering and processing all the necessary data. We developed a mixedinteger linear programming model along with a data mapping scheme and we applied them to the European Pirelli Tyre logistics network. The optimisation model proved to be accurate and it allowed obtaining significant results in terms of logistics cost savings.