A threshold accepting approach to the open vehicle routing problem

Tarantilis, CD; Ioannou, G; Kiranoudis, CT; Prastacos, GP

dc.contributor.author	Tarantilis, CD	en
dc.contributor.author	Ioannou, G	en
dc.contributor.author	Kiranoudis, CT	en
dc.contributor.author	Prastacos, GP	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-01T01:19:49Z
dc.date.available	2014-03-01T01:19:49Z
dc.date.issued	2004	en
dc.identifier.issn	0399-0559	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.lib.ntua.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/15724
dc.subject	Distribution	en
dc.subject	Logistics	en
dc.subject	Vehicle routing	en
dc.subject.classification	Operations Research & Management Science	en
dc.subject.other	Algorithms	en
dc.subject.other	Constraint theory	en
dc.subject.other	Distribution of goods	en
dc.subject.other	Hamiltonians	en
dc.subject.other	Logistics	en
dc.subject.other	Operations research	en
dc.subject.other	Problem solving	en
dc.subject.other	Delivery routes	en
dc.subject.other	Open vehicle routing problem (OVRP)	en
dc.subject.other	Operational planning	en
dc.subject.other	Transportation routes	en
dc.title	A threshold accepting approach to the open vehicle routing problem	en
heal.type	journalArticle	en
heal.identifier.primary	10.1051/ro:2004029	en
heal.identifier.secondary	http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/ro:2004029	en
heal.language	English	en
heal.publicationDate	2004	en
heal.abstract	In this paper we consider the operational planning problem of physical distribution via a fleet of hired vehicles, for which the travelling cost is solely a function of the sequence of locations visited within all open delivery routes, while vehicle fixed cost is inexistent. The problem is a special class of vehicle routing and is encountered in the literature as the Open Vehicle Routing Problem (OVRP), since vehicles are not required to return to the depot. The goal is to distribute in an optimal way finished goods from a central facility to geographically dispersed customers, which pose daily demand for items produced in the facility and act as sales points for consumers. To solve the problem, we employ an annealing-based method that utilizes a backtracking policy of the threshold value when no acceptances of feasible solutions occur during the search process. Computational results on a set of benchmark problems show that the proposed method consistently out-performs previous algorithms for solving the OVRP. The approach can serve as the means for effective fleet planning in real-life problems.	en
heal.publisher	E D P SCIENCES	en
heal.journalName	RAIRO - Operations Research	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1051/ro:2004029	en
dc.identifier.isi	ISI:000227178400005	en
dc.identifier.volume	38	en
dc.identifier.issue	4	en
dc.identifier.spage	345	en
dc.identifier.epage	360	en