Routing Applications in Newspaper Delivery

-The goal of this report is to give an up-to-date account of routing applications in the newspaper business. We describe the newspaper supply chain, and focus on the “last mile” distribution that has been advocated as an application of arc routing in the literature. A literature survey is provided, followed by a discussion of the arc routing model and its adequacy to newspaper applications. A more general and normally more adequate model: The Node, Edge, and Arc Routing Problem, is discussed. Characteristics of routing problems in carrier delivery are presented, together with a case study from the development of a web-based route design and revision system. Finally, summary, conclusions, and prospects for the future are given

Combining hybrid genetic search with ruin-and-recreate for solving the capacitated vehicle routing problem

The Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) has been subject to intense research efforts for more than sixty years. Yet, significant algorithmic improvements are still being made. The most competitive heuristic solution algorithms of today utilize, and often combine, strategies and elements from evolutionary algorithms, local search, and ruin-and-recreate based large neighborhood search. In this paper we propose a new hybrid metaheuristic for the CVRP, where the education phase of the hybrid genetic search (HGS) algorithm proposed by (Vidal Hybrid Genetic Search for the CVRP: Open-Source Implementation and SWAP* Neighborhood 2020) is extended by applying large neighborhood search (LNS). By performing a series of computational experiments, we attempt to answer the following research questions: 1) Is it possible to gain performance by adding LNS as a component in the education phase of HGS? 2) How does the addition of LNS change the relative importance of the local search neighborhoods of HGS? 3) What is the effect of devoting computational efforts to the creation of an elite solution in the initial population of HGS? Through a set of computational experiments we answer these research questions, while at the same time obtaining a good configuration of global parameter settings for the proposed heuristic. Testing the heuristic on benchmark instances from the literature with limited computing time, it outperforms existing algorithms, both in terms of the final gap and the primal integral.publishedVersio

Experiments on the Node, Edge, and Arc Routing Problem

The Node, Edge, and Arc Routing Problem (NEARP) was defined by Prins and Bouchenoua in 2004 along with the first benchmark called CBMix. The NEARP generalizes the classical Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP), the Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (CARP), and the General Routing Problem. It is also denoted the Mixed Capacitated General Routing Problem (MCGRP). The NEARP removes the strict and unwarranted dichotomy that previously existed in the literature between arc routing and node routing. In real applications, there are many cases where the pure node or arc routing models are not adequate. In fundamentally node-based routing applications such as newspaper delivery and communal waste management that have typically been modeled as arc routing problems in the literature, the number of points is often so large that demand aggregation is necessary. Aggregation heuristics will normally give a NEARP instance, possibly with side constraints. Hence, the NEARP is a scientifically challenging problem with high industrial relevance. In this report we present experiments with Spider, SINTEF’s industrial VRP solver, on the three NEARP benchmarks that have been published so far: CBMix, BHW, and DI-NEARP. Bach, Hasle, and Wøhlk have developed a combinatorial lower bound for the NEARP and defined the two latter benchmarks. Here, we present an experimental study with Spider on the three existing NEARP benchmarks. Upper and lower bounds are given for all instances. Three of the BHW instances have been solved to optimality. SINTEF has developed a web page for NEARP results on http://www.sintef.no/NEARP

Experiments on the Node, Edge, and Arc Routing Problem

-The Node, Edge, and Arc Routing Problem (NEARP) was defined by Prins and Bouchenoua in 2004 along with the first benchmark called CBMix. The NEARP generalizes the classical Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP), the Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (CARP), and the General Routing Problem. It is also denoted the Mixed Capacitated General Routing Problem (MCGRP). The NEARP removes the strict and unwarranted dichotomy that previously existed in the literature between arc routing and node routing. In real applications, there are many cases where the pure node or arc routing models are not adequate. In fundamentally node-based routing applications such as newspaper delivery and communal waste management that have typically been modeled as arc routing problems in the literature, the number of points is often so large that demand aggregation is necessary. Aggregation heuristics will normally give a NEARP instance, possibly with side constraints. Hence, the NEARP is a scientifically challenging problem with high industrial relevance. In this report we present experiments with Spider, SINTEF’s industrial VRP solver, on the three NEARP benchmarks that have been published so far: CBMix, BHW, and DI-NEARP. Bach, Hasle, and Wøhlk have developed a combinatorial lower bound for the NEARP and defined the two latter benchmarks. Here, we present an experimental study with Spider on the three existing NEARP benchmarks. Upper and lower bounds are given for all instances. Three of the BHW instances have been solved to optimality. SINTEF has developed a web page for NEARP results on http://www.sintef.no/NEARP

An Adaptive Iterated Local Search for the Mixed Capacitated General Routing Problem

We study the mixed capacitated general routing problem (MCGRP) in which a fleet of capacitated vehicles has to serve a set of requests by traversing a mixed weighted graph. The requests may be located on nodes, edges, and arcs. The problem has theoretical interest because it is a generalization of the capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP), the capacitated arc routing problem (CARP), and the general routing problem. It is also of great practical interest since it is often a more accurate model for real-world cases than its widely studied specializations, particularly for so-called street routing applications. Examples are urban waste collection, snow removal, and newspaper delivery. We propose a new iterated local search metaheuristic for the problem that also includes vital mechanisms from adaptive large neighborhood search combined with further intensification through local search. The method utilizes selected, tailored, and novel local search and large neighborhood search operators, as well as a new local search strategy. Computational experiments show that the proposed metaheuristic is highly effective on five published benchmarks for the MCGRP. The metaheuristic yields excellent results also on seven standard CARP data sets, and good results on four well-known CVRP benchmarks, including improvement of the best known upper bound for one instance

Key Performance Indicators in design for sustainable rural transport

Rural areas are less attractive and sustainable for people and businesses alike, partially due to inadequate transport services. In this paper, we address transport-related challenges in rural Norway. The focal aspect of our approach is to define a set of values for the design and mechanisms of transitioning towards more sustainable rural transport making a real-life difference for people living in rural areas. We connect UN sustainability goals and transition design to discuss how these can be operationalized and used throughout the design process seeking to innovate rural transport. Reflecting on how to find the initial ‘leverage points’ to scaffold the transition to more sustainable transport systems, we explore the possibility of introducing relevant Key Performance Indicators early on in the design process. We report on our experiences and findings regarding the use Key Performance Indicators in different phases of a design-led innovation process.publishedVersio

Arc routing problems: A review of the past, present, and future

[EN] Arc routing problems (ARPs) are defined and introduced. Following a brief history of developments in this area of research, different types of ARPs are described that are currently relevant for study. In addition, particular features of ARPs that are important from a theoretical or practical point of view are discussed. A section on applications describes some of the changes that have occurred from early applications of ARP models to the present day and points the way to emerging topics for study. A final section provides information on libraries and instance repositories for ARPs. The review concludes with some perspectives on future research developments and opportunities for emerging applicationsThis research was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, Grant/Award Number: PGC2018-099428-B-I00. The Research Council of Norway, Grant/Award Numbers: 246825/O70 (DynamITe), 263031/O70 (AXIOM).Corberán, Á.; Eglese, R.; Hasle, G.; Plana, I.; Sanchís Llopis, JM. (2021). Arc routing problems: A review of the past, present, and future. Networks. 77(1):88-115. https://doi.org/10.1002/net.21965S8811577

Routing Applications in Newspaper Delivery

The goal of this report is to give an up-to-date account of routing applications in the newspaper business. We describe the newspaper supply chain, and focus on the “last mile” distribution that has been advocated as an application of arc routing in the literature. A literature survey is provided, followed by a discussion of the arc routing model and its adequacy to newspaper applications. A more general and normally more adequate model: The Node, Edge, and Arc Routing Problem, is discussed. Characteristics of routing problems in carrier delivery are presented, together with a case study from the development of a web-based route design and revision system. Finally, summary, conclusions, and prospects for the future are given