Tabu search techniques for the heterogeneous vehicle routing problem with time windows and carrier-dependent costs

Abstract

Abstract In this work we formalize a new complex variant of the classical vehicle routing problem arising from a real-world application. Our formulation includes a heterogeneous fleet, a multi-day planning horizon, a complex carrier-dependent cost function for the vehicles, and the possibility of leaving orders unscheduled. We propose a metaheuristic approach based on tabu search and on a complex combination of neighborhood relations. Finally, we perform an experimental analysis to tune and compare different combinations, highlighting the most important features of the algorithm.