Solution of a Real-Life Vehicle Routing Problem with Meal Breaks and Shifts

2020 ◽  
pp. 131-157
Author(s):  
Çiğdem Karademir ◽  
Ümit Bilge ◽  
Necati Aras ◽  
Gökay Burak Akkuş ◽  
Göksu Öznergiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vehicle Routing ◽  
Vehicle Routing Problem ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Routing Problem ◽  
And Shifts

scholarly journals The Robust Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows: Compact Formulation and Branch-Price-and-Cut Method

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 1043-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Munari ◽  
Alfredo Moreno ◽  
Jonathan De La Vega ◽  
Douglas Alem ◽  
Jacek Gondzio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vehicle Routing ◽  
Vehicle Routing Problem ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Set Partitioning ◽  
Branch And Cut ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Routing Problem ◽  
Compact Formulation ◽  
Cut Method

We address the robust vehicle routing problem with time windows (RVRPTW) under customer demand and travel time uncertainties. As presented thus far in the literature, robust counterparts of standard formulations have challenged general-purpose optimization solvers and specialized branch-and-cut methods. Hence, optimal solutions have been reported for small-scale instances only. Additionally, although the most successful methods for solving many variants of vehicle routing problems are based on the column generation technique, the RVRPTW has never been addressed by this type of method. In this paper, we introduce a novel robust counterpart model based on the well-known budgeted uncertainty set, which has advantageous features in comparison with other formulations and presents better overall performance when solved by commercial solvers. This model results from incorporating dynamic programming recursive equations into a standard deterministic formulation and does not require the classical dualization scheme typically used in robust optimization. In addition, we propose a branch-price-and-cut method based on a set partitioning formulation of the problem, which relies on a robust resource-constrained elementary shortest path problem to generate routes that are robust regarding both vehicle capacity and customer time windows. Computational experiments using Solomon’s instances show that the proposed approach is effective and able to obtain robust solutions within a reasonable running time. The results of an extensive Monte Carlo simulation indicate the relevance of obtaining robust routes for a more reliable decision-making process in real-life settings.

APPLICATION OF GENETIC ALGORITHMS TO A LARGE-SCALE MULTIPLE-CONSTRAINT VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEM

2003 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEORGE MOURKOUSIS ◽  
MATHEW PROTONOTARIOS ◽  
THEODORA VARVARIGOU
Keyword(s):  
Vehicle Routing ◽  
Vehicle Routing Problem ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Hybrid Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Search Space ◽  
Genetic Operators ◽  
Actual Problem ◽  
Routing Problem

This paper presents a study on the application of a hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) to an extended instance of the Vehicle Routing Problem. The actual problem is a complex real-life vehicle routing problem regarding the distribution of products to customers. A non homogenous fleet of vehicles with limited capacity and allowed travel time is available to satisfy the stochastic demand of a set of different types of customers with earliest and latest time for servicing. The objective is to minimize distribution costs respecting the imposed constraints (vehicle capacity, customer time windows, driver working hours and so on). The approach for solving the problem was based on a "cluster and route" HGA. Several genetic operators, selection and replacement methods were tested until the HGA became efficient for optimization of a multi-extrema search space system (multi-modal optimization). Finally, High Performance Computing (HPC) has been applied in order to provide near-optimal solutions in a sensible amount of time.

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