Article ID: | iaor2006827 |
Country: | Netherlands |
Volume: | 98 |
Issue: | 2 |
Start Page Number: | 136 |
End Page Number: | 142 |
Publication Date: | Jan 2005 |
Journal: | International Journal of Production Economics |
Authors: | Hwang Heung-Suk |
Keywords: | distribution, heuristics |
A distribution routing problem with time constraint is one of the important problems in distribution and supply center management. This research is concerned with an integrated distribution routing problem for multi-supply centers based on improved genetic algorithm and graphical user interface (GUI)-type programming. In this research, we proposed a method based on a three-step approach: in step 1 a sector clustering model is developed to transfer the multi-supply center problem to single supply center problems which are easier to be solved; in step 2 we developed a vehicle routing model with time constraints and in step 3 we developed a GA-TSP model which can improve the vehicle routing schedules. The objective of the problem is to minimize the logistic cost for a set of customers without being tardy or exceeding the capacity or travel time of the vehicles. For computational purpose, we developed a GUI-type computer program according to the proposed methods and the sample outputs show that the proposed method is very effective on a set of standard test problems, and it could be potentially useful in solving the distribution routing problems.