One common feature among real-life applications of FLNDP is their dynamic nature. Facility location and network design decisions are necessarily strategic and long-term because of the large capital expenses involved. Multiple parameters, such as cost, demand, etc., often vary over the planning horizon. Facilities and links, once established, remain open over an extended period of time. Therefore, decision-makers place great importance on the timing of facility construction, expansion, and maintenance over an extended planning horizon. In comparison with the static case, far fewer papers have been established on dynamic or multi-period facility location problem.
Static facility location models implicitly assume a single planning period and do not take into account the fact that certain parameters may change over time. In reality, many parameters such as demand and cost may change over time. DFLPs model usually take one or more of these factors into account. So far, the literature regarding facility location has been more focused on static rather than dynamic models.