Abstract
Scheduling a large number of time-sensitive orders of multiple types in a short time period is a major challenge for instant delivery platforms. This study introduces an integrated problem of heterogeneous order assignment and routing optimization in the real-world setting of third-party instant delivery platforms. A mixed integer programming model is presented to optimize the assignment of instant delivery orders of multiple types and the scheduling of couriers with different grades. We develop a column generation model and a heuristic solution procedure to yield a solution for the integrated problem and we design an exact sub-procedure to accelerate the pricing problem. Taking Songjiang District, Shanghai as an example, numerical experiments are performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model and the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. The results show that the algorithm can obtain near-optimal solutions within a reasonable computing time. Several managerial implications are obtained from sensitivity analysis. The proposed methodology can be recommended for platform operators to improve dispatch efficiency and optimize workforce resources.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 106246 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Computers and Operations Research |
| Volume | 157 |
| Early online date | 7 Jun 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding:This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant numbers 72361137001, 72025103 and 71831008).
Data availability:
Data will be made available on request.
Funding
The authors thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions on improving this paper. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant numbers 72361137001 , 72025103 and 71831008 ).