A dynamic multi-period general routing problem arising in postal service and parcel delivery systems

Demetrio Laganà; Gilbert Laporte; Francesca Vocaturo

doi:10.1016/j.cor.2020.105195

A dynamic multi-period general routing problem arising in postal service and parcel delivery systems

Demetrio Laganà, Gilbert Laporte, Francesca Vocaturo

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

14 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Postal and courier companies are under the pressure of minimizing operational costs while meeting requests for increasingly high service levels. We model their delivery problem as a dynamic multi-period general routing problem (DMPGRP) with the aim of minimizing the total cost over a given planning horizon. In most modern delivery systems, fluctuating demand volumes dynamically reveal themselves over time; in addition, service differentiation is highly important. Both these characteristics are considered in our DMPGRP. An effective solution strategy for this problem selects demands that must be fulfilled day by day, after distinguishing them according to priority classes. It then constructs the vehicle routes by using a heuristic algorithm based on the adaptive large neighbourhood search. The results of an extensive computational study are reported.

Original language	English
Article number	105195
Journal	Computers and Operations Research
Volume	129
Early online date	24 Dec 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2020.105195
Publication status	Published - May 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The work by Gilbert Laporte was partly supported by the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council under grant 2015–06189. This support is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are due to the Associate Editor and to the reviewers for their valuable comments.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

Adaptive large neighbourhood search
Delivery service
Mixed capacitated general routing problem
Sustainability
Public sector

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Computer Science
Modelling and Simulation
Management Science and Operations Research

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10.1016/j.cor.2020.105195

Cite this

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abstract = "Postal and courier companies are under the pressure of minimizing operational costs while meeting requests for increasingly high service levels. We model their delivery problem as a dynamic multi-period general routing problem (DMPGRP) with the aim of minimizing the total cost over a given planning horizon. In most modern delivery systems, fluctuating demand volumes dynamically reveal themselves over time; in addition, service differentiation is highly important. Both these characteristics are considered in our DMPGRP. An effective solution strategy for this problem selects demands that must be fulfilled day by day, after distinguishing them according to priority classes. It then constructs the vehicle routes by using a heuristic algorithm based on the adaptive large neighbourhood search. The results of an extensive computational study are reported.",

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A dynamic multi-period general routing problem arising in postal service and parcel delivery systems

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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