Used Product Collection Optimization Using Genetic Algorithms
This chapter addresses the collected used products transportation issue (i.e., used products are first transported from a set of collection points to a sorting centre and then returned to a facility for remanufacturing). The chapter starts with an introduction about the importance of transporting these collected returns in used products remanufacturing. Then, the related studies dealing with this issue are discussed in the background section. Next, the focal problem of this chapter (by considering timing and fuel consumption constraints) is stated in the problem statement section. A detailed description about the authors’ approach (i.e., first, formulating the targeted problem as a multiple travelling salesmen problem and then employing genetic algorithms to solve it) can be found in the proposed methodology section. Right after this, an illustrative example is explained in the experimental study section. The potential research directions regarding the main problem considered in this chapter are highlighted in the future trends section. Finally, the conclusion drawn in the last section closes this chapter.