The quality-driven vehicle routing problem: Model and application to a case of cooperative logistics

Helena M. Stellingwerf, Leendert H.C. Groeneveld, Gilbert Laporte, Argyris Kanellopoulos, Jacqueline M. Bloemhof, Behzad Behdani

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Inefficient road transportation causes unnecessary costs and emissions. This problem is even more severe in fresh food transportation, where temperature control is used to guarantee product quality. On a route with multiple stops, the quality of the transported products could be negatively influenced by the door openings and consequent temperature fluctuations. In this study, we quantify the effects of multi-stop transportation on food quality. To realistically model and quantify food quality, we develop a time-and temperature-dependent kinetic model for a vehicle routing problem. The proposed extensions of the vehicle routing problem enable quantification of quality decay on a route. The model is illustrated using a case study of cooperative routing, and our results show that longer, multi-stop routes can negatively influence food quality, especially for products delivered later in the route, and when the products are very temperature-sensitive and the outside temperature is high. Minimising quality loss results in multiple routes with fewer stops per route, whereas minimising costs or emissions results in longer routes. By adjusting driving speed, unloading rate, cooling rate, and by setting a quality threshold level, the negative quality consequences of multi-stop routes can be mitigated.

Original languageEnglish
Article number107849
JournalInternational Journal of Production Economics
Volume231
Early online date24 Jun 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2021

Funding

This work is part of the research programme CapsLog, which is (partly) financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), and by the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council under grant 2015?01689. This support is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are due to the referees for their valuable comments. This work is part of the research programme CapsLog, which is (partly) financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) , and by the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council under grant 2015–01689 . This support is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are due to the referees for their valuable comments.

Keywords

  • Arrhenius equation
  • Cold chain
  • Cooperation
  • Decay
  • Food quality
  • Vehicle routing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Business,Management and Accounting
  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Management Science and Operations Research
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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