Title: Checking the feasibility of a vehicle route in integrated supply chain transportation model

Authors: Y. Gajpal, P.L. Abad

Addresses: DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S4M4, Canada. ' DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S4M4, Canada

Abstract: The paper presents the variant of vehicle routing problem that considers the optimal integration of forward flow of materials from manufacturer to customers with a backward flow of materials from customers to specialised warehouses or recycling sites. The problem is called vehicle routing problem with simultaneous pickup and delivery (VRPSPD). In VRPSPD, a customer requires a given shipment to be delivered as well as a given load to be picked up simultaneously. Complete service (i.e., delivery and pickup) to the customer is provided by a vehicle in a single visit and thus the load of a vehicle fluctuates over the route. Given that the load fluctuates over the route, an important issue of VRPSPD is checking the feasibility of a route during local search. In this paper, we present the cumulative net-pickup approach for checking the feasibility of a vehicle route while performing neighbourhood search in local search schemes.

Keywords: reverse logistics; vehicle routing; simultaneous pickups; simultaneous deliveries; local searches; transportation models; integrated supply chains; optimal integration; forward flows; raw materials; manufacturers; customers; backward flows; route feasibility; warehouses; recycling sites; VRPSPD; shipments; load fluctuation; complete service; single visits; cumulative net-pickups; neighbourhood searches; business performance; SCM; supply chain management; simulation; manufacturing industry; service industries.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPSCM.2010.036202

International Journal of Business Performance and Supply Chain Modelling, 2010 Vol.2 No.3/4, pp.258 - 281

Published online: 29 Oct 2010 *

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