A vehicle routing cost evaluation algorithm for the strategic analysis of radial distribution networks

Abstract

This article presents a new algorithm, based on bin packing algorithms, that determines vehicle routing costs on networks with certain geographic characteristics. Requiring very little data and computation time, the algorithm is used to test the impact of adding flexibility to a retailer's Canadian distribution operations. It is shown that it is possible to save 5-10% of vehicle routing costs by modifying shipping schedules.Retail distribution Vehicle routing Load building and routing