Modelling and solution of a large-scale vehicle routing problem at GE appliances & lighting
E Khodabandeh, L Bai, SS Heragu… - … Journal of Production …, 2017 - Taylor & Francis
E Khodabandeh, L Bai, SS Heragu, GW Evans, T Elrod, M Shirkness
International Journal of Production Research, 2017•Taylor & FrancisWe consider a special case of the vehicle routing problem where not only each customer
has specified delivery time window, but each route has limited time duration. We propose a
solution algorithm using network reduction techniques and simulated annealing meta-
heuristic. The objective is twofold: minimising the travel time and minimising the total number
of vehicles required. The time-window constraint ensures delivery without delay, thus, a
potentially higher level of customer satisfaction. The algorithm has helped the transportation …
has specified delivery time window, but each route has limited time duration. We propose a
solution algorithm using network reduction techniques and simulated annealing meta-
heuristic. The objective is twofold: minimising the travel time and minimising the total number
of vehicles required. The time-window constraint ensures delivery without delay, thus, a
potentially higher level of customer satisfaction. The algorithm has helped the transportation …
We consider a special case of the vehicle routing problem where not only each customer has specified delivery time window, but each route has limited time duration. We propose a solution algorithm using network reduction techniques and simulated annealing meta-heuristic. The objective is twofold: minimising the travel time and minimising the total number of vehicles required. The time-window constraint ensures delivery without delay, thus, a potentially higher level of customer satisfaction. The algorithm has helped the transportation planning team at General Electric Appliances & Lighting to significantly reduce the number of required trucks in two real cases, while its performance on randomly generated cases is also efficient when compared to properly selected benchmarking algorithms.
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