Using a hybrid heuristic to solve the balanced vehicle routing problem with loading constraints

Carlos A. Vega-Mejía, Eliana María González-Neira, Jairo R. Montoya-Torres, Sardar M.N. Islam

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Vehicle Routing Problem with Loading Constraints (VRPLC) is strongly related to real life applications in distribution logistics. It addresses the simultaneous loading and routing of vehicles, which are two crucial activities in transportation. Since treating these operations separately may result in impractical solutions, the development of applications for VRPLCs has gained the attention of researchers in recent years. Several heuristic methods have been proposed, but they consider only a limited group of practical characteristics that arise in real world situations. This study proposes a hybrid heuristic method based on the Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP) metaheuristic and the Clarke and Wright Savings algorithm, to solve a VRPLC with several loading and routing constraints that have not been considered simultaneously before. Experimental results show that the proposed procedure produces competitive solutions in short processing times. Lastly, the impact of the added operational constraints is also analyzed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)255-280
Number of pages26
JournalInternational Journal of Industrial Engineering Computations
Volume11
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020

Keywords

  • Clarke and Wright Savings
  • Constraints
  • GRASP
  • Hybrid heuristic
  • Practical loading and routing
  • Vehicle Routing Problem with Loading Constraints

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