The vehicle routing problem in the dairy sector: a case study
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Marta Rinaldi
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Eleonora Bottani
Abstract
The vehicle routing problem is one of the most studied NP-hard combinatorial problem. In the food sector, the complexity of the issue grows because of the presence of strict constraints. Taking into account the variability and the restrictions typical of the dairy sector, the aim of this paper is to provide a practical tool for solving the milk collection problem in real scenarios. A heuristic approach has been proposed to determine a feasible solution for a real-life problem, including capacity and time constraints. Two different applications of the Nearest Neighbor algorithm have been modelled and compared with the current system. Different tests have been implemented for evaluating the suitability of the outcomes. Results show that the greedy approach allows for involving less vehicles and reducing the travel time. Moreover, the tool has been proved to be flexible, able to solve routing problems with stochastic times and high supply variability.
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Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
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Research funding: None declared.
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Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.
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© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Special issue “Selected papers from the International Food Operations & Processing Simulation Workshop – sixth edition”
- Articles
- Data-based prediction of microbial contamination in herbs and identification of optimal harvest parameters
- Are consumers aware of products’ environmental impacts? Different results between life cycle assessment data and consumers’ opinions: the case study of organic Parmigiano Reggiano and its packaging
- Benefits and effectiveness of high pressure processing on cheese: a ricotta case study
- Simulation of different reordering policies for optimizing the inventory of perishable food: an Italian case study
- The vehicle routing problem in the dairy sector: a case study
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Special issue “Selected papers from the International Food Operations & Processing Simulation Workshop – sixth edition”
- Articles
- Data-based prediction of microbial contamination in herbs and identification of optimal harvest parameters
- Are consumers aware of products’ environmental impacts? Different results between life cycle assessment data and consumers’ opinions: the case study of organic Parmigiano Reggiano and its packaging
- Benefits and effectiveness of high pressure processing on cheese: a ricotta case study
- Simulation of different reordering policies for optimizing the inventory of perishable food: an Italian case study
- The vehicle routing problem in the dairy sector: a case study
