Multi-Level Route-Optimization Computer Application

This report provides a detailed analysis on how to optimize driving routes by creating a computer application. There are many different route-optimization issues that logistical companies consistently face, as well as many different solutions and algorithms. With technology on the rise, pick-up, delivery, and transportation services are become a huge part of our everyday lives. When optimizing routes, reducing transportation costs by minimizing travel distance is always ideal, but other factors must be considered such as arriving at a location before or after a certain time. Our objective is to optimize driving routes based on travel distance and priorities. We approached this project by using SQL as our main source of determining the route order based on the given distances and priorities of each destination in the projected route. We also used VBA as a tool to support the calculations and ASP.net to insert Javascript and HTML code, which allows us to visualize the Google Maps route once the order has been determined

Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm to Solve Vehicle Routing Problem with Fuel Consumption Minimization

The Conventional Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) has the objective function of minimizing the total vehicles’ traveling distance. Since the fuel cost is a relatively high component of transportation costs, in this study, the objective function of VRP has been extended by considering fuel consumption minimization in the situation wherein the loading weight and traveling time are restricted. Based on these assumptions, we proposed to extend the route division procedure proposed by Kuo and Wang [4] such that when one of the restrictions can not be met the routing division continues to create a new sub-route to find an acceptable solution. To solve the formulated problem, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed to optimize the vehicle routing plan. The proposed methodology is validated by solving the problem by taking a particular day data from a bottled drinking water distribution company. It was revealed that the saving of at best 13% can be obtained from the actual routes applied by the company

Roteirização de Veículos em Centros Urbanos: uma Proposta de Modelo Matemático Aplicado ao Serviço de Delivery Com Bicicletas

crescimento das cidades tem tornado o transporte urbano de carga um grande desafio. É possível perceber que o ritmo de crescimento da infraestrutura viária urbana é menor do que o crescimento do número de veículos e de pessoas, de forma que os impactos negativos como congestionamento do trânsito, poluição e acidentes são cada vez mais impactantes. Um dos serviços de transporte que mais cresce nas cidades é o serviço de delivery, principalmente o de alimentos, sendo muito comum vermos motocicletas sendo utilizadas para fazer as entregas. Um importante conceito que surgiu para tratar da interação entre as pessoas e o meio ambiente urbano é o conceito de City Logistics, que sugere o uso de transporte urbano ambientalmente amigável. Neste sentido, o uso de bicicletas para o serviço de delivery surge como uma opção para reduzir os impactos negativos. Neste trabalho foi adaptado e implementado um modelo matemático de programação e roteirização de veículos aplicado ao serviço de delivery considerando o uso de bicicletas para fazer as entregas. Foi utilizado o software Cplex para rodar 48 cenários, onde foi possível demonstrar que o modelo pode ser resolvido de forma ótima para pequenas instâncias

Driver helper dispatching problems: Three essays

The driver helper dispatching problems (DHDPs) have received scant research attention in past literature. In this three essay format dissertation, we proposed two ideas: 1) minimizing of the total cost as the new objective function to replace minimizing the total distance cost that is mostly used in past traveling salesman problem (TSP) and vehicle routing problem (VRP) algorithms and 2) dispatching vehicle either with a helper or not as part of the routing decision. The first study shows that simply separating a single with-helper route into two different types of sub-routes can significantly reduce total costs. It also proposes a new dependent driver helper (DDH) model to boost the utilization rate of the helpers to higher levels. In the second study, a new hybrid driver helper (HDH) model is proposed to solve DHDPs. The proposed HDH model provides the flexibility to relax the constraints that a helper can only work at one predetermined location in current-practice independent driver helper (IDH) model and that a helper always travels with the vehicle in the current-practice DDH model. We conducted a series of full-factorial experiments to prove that the proposed HDH model performs better than both two current solutions in terms of savings in both cost and time. The last study proposes a mathematical model to solve the VRPTW version of DHDPs and conducts a series of full factorial computational experiments. The results show that the proposed model can achieve more cost savings while reducing a similar level of dispatched vehicles as the current-practice DDH solution. All these three studies also investigate the conditions under which the proposed models would work most, or least, effectively

Driver helper dispatching problems: Three essays

The driver helper dispatching problems (DHDPs) have received scant research attention in past literature. In this three essay format dissertation, we proposed two ideas: 1) minimizing of the total cost as the new objective function to replace minimizing the total distance cost that is mostly used in past traveling salesman problem (TSP) and vehicle routing problem (VRP) algorithms and 2) dispatching vehicle either with a helper or not as part of the routing decision. The first study shows that simply separating a single with-helper route into two different types of sub-routes can significantly reduce total costs. It also proposes a new dependent driver helper (DDH) model to boost the utilization rate of the helpers to higher levels. In the second study, a new hybrid driver helper (HDH) model is proposed to solve DHDPs. The proposed HDH model provides the flexibility to relax the constraints that a helper can only work at one predetermined location in current-practice independent driver helper (IDH) model and that a helper always travels with the vehicle in the current-practice DDH model. We conducted a series of full-factorial experiments to prove that the proposed HDH model performs better than both two current solutions in terms of savings in both cost and time. The last study proposes a mathematical model to solve the VRPTW version of DHDPs and conducts a series of full factorial computational experiments. The results show that the proposed model can achieve more cost savings while reducing a similar level of dispatched vehicles as the current-practice DDH solution. All these three studies also investigate the conditions under which the proposed models would work most, or least, effectively

Solving a Location, Allocation, and Capacity Planning Problem with Dynamic Demand and Response Time Service Level

Logistic systems with uncertain demand, travel time, and on-site processing time are studied here where sequential trip travel is allowed. The relationship between three levels of decisions: facility location, demand allocation, and resource capacity (number of service units), satisfying the response time requirement, is analysed. The problem is formulated as a stochastic mixed integer program. A simulation-based hybrid heuristic is developed to solve the dynamic problem under different response time service level. An initial solution is obtained from solving static location-allocation models, followed by iterative improvement of the three levels of decisions by ejection, reinsertion procedure with memory of feasible and infeasible service regions. Results indicate that a higher response time service level could be achieved by allocating a given resource under an appropriate decentralized policy. Given a response time requirement, the general trend is that the minimum total capacity initially decreases with more facilities. During this stage, variability in travel time has more impact on capacity than variability in demand arrivals. Thereafter, the total capacity remains stable and then gradually increases. When service level requirement is high, the dynamic dispatch based on first-come-first-serve rule requires smaller capacity than the one by nearest-neighbour rule

Distribución de commodities en PYMEs de comercio al por menor: Un enfoque cuantitativo

La gestión logística comprende las funciones de aprovisionamiento, distribución y devolución de bienes y productos físicos entre el productor y el consumidor final. En la función de distribución se encuentran actividades como la ubicación de centros logísticos, el almacenamiento, picking, packing, labeling, ruteo de vehículos y transporte, entre otras. El ruteo de vehículos, conocido en la literatura como VRP (Vehicle Routing Problem, en inglés), es un tema ampliamente discutido desde 1959, inicialmente por Dantzig y Ramser [21]. En la actualidad el VRP tiene muchas variantes que se ajustan a diferentes problemas de la vida real. Dado al continuo y acelerado avance de la ciencia y la tecnología, los métodos de solución actuales para los problemas de ruteo de vehículos desarrollados en las últimas cinco décadas son altamente complejos, lo anterior debido a que se han diseñado para satisfacer las necesidades de las grandes empresas en continuo crecimiento. Dichos modelos de ruteo requieren de alta tecnología para generar soluciones eficientes, precisas y oportunas. Específicamente las Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas (PYMEs) presentan desventajas relacionadas con los recursos disponibles, entre ellos el no contar con suficiente dinero para invertir en equipos y vehículos, para adquirir recursos tecnológicos o para emplear personal calificado para administrar y mantener tanto las plataformas y sistemas de distribución y ruteo de vehículos. Por otra parte las actividades de distribución de las PYMEs cuentan con características especiales, entre ellas, el uso de vehículos de baja capacidad (menores a 600 Kg) y velocidad, así como tiempos de respuesta cortos para atender las necesidades de sus clientes. Dadas las condiciones particulares de la PYMEs, la toma de decisiones relacionadas con el ruteo de vehículos debería soportarse en herramientas cuantitativas adecuadas para el grado de complejidad y teniendo en cuenta las características de sus operaciones de ruteo. Empleando una heurística de inserción sencilla para el problema de ruteo de vehículos con fraccionamiento de carga y ventanas de tiempo (SDVRPTW), implementada en una plataforma tecnológica común (Microsoft® Excel™) teniendo en cuenta las restricciones de recursos de las PYMEs, se validó que el SDVRPTW es un enfoque adecuado para abordar las necesidades de ruteo de vehículos en PYMEs sobre las otras variantes del problema, se redujo en un 50% el número de vehículos empleados para el caso de estudio, así como se validó que no se requieren recursos adicionales a los que ya cuentan las PYMEs para modelar sus operaciones de distribución empleando métodos cuantitativos.Abstract. Logistic management includes provisioning, distribution and return of goods and phisical products from provider to final customer. On distribution function there are activities like distribution centers location, storage, picking, packing, labeling, vehicle routing and transportation, among others. Vehicle routing, known as VRP is a widely discussed topic since 1959, firstly handled by Dantzig and Ramser [21]. Nowadays VRP has so many variants, which fits different real life problems. Given the continued and accelerated progress of science and technology, current solution methods for vehicle routing problems developed in the last two decades are highly complex, that is because they have been designed to meet the needs of the big companies in continuous growing, which have a large number of customers. Those routing models need high technology to generate efficient, accurate and timely solutions. Specifically Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) have disadvantages related to available resources, including no having enough money to invest in equipment and vehicles, to acquire technological resources or to employ trained personnel to manage and maintain distribution and vehicle routing platforms and systems. By the other hand, SMEs distribution activities have special characteristics like usage of vehicles of low capacity and speed and short service time to attend customer requirements. Given specific conditions of SMEs, decision making related with vehicle routing should be supported by quantitative tools fitted to complexity and characteristics of their routing operations. Using a simple insertion heuristic for Split Deliveries Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (SDVRPTW), developed on a common technology platform (Microsoft® Excel™) taking into account SMEs resources restrictions, was validated that SDVRPTW is an appropriate approach for solving SMEs vehicle routing needs over other VRP variants, number of vehicles necessary was reduced about 50% for the study case, as well as was validated that is not necessary additional resources that SMEs already have for modeling their distribution activities using quantitative methods.Maestrí