An exact algorithm for a vehicle routing problem with time windows and multiple use of vehicles

The vehicle routing problem with multiple use of vehicles is a variant of the classical vehicle routing problem. It arises when each vehicle performs several routes during the workday due to strict time limits on route duration (e.g., when perishable products are transported). The routes are defined over customers with a revenue, a demand and a time window. Given a fixed-size fleet of vehicles, it might not be possible to serve all customers. Thus, the customers must be chosen based on their profitability (i.e., revenues minus traveling costs). In this paper, a column generation approach is first proposed to address this problem. The master problem is a variant of a set covering problem, while the pricing subproblems are elementary shortest path problems with resource constraints. The column generation algorithm is then embedded within a branch-and-price framework to obtain integer solutions. Computational results are reported on Euclidean problems derived from well-known benchmark in...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: EOR
• Authors: Nabila Azi, Michel Gendreau, Jean-Yves Potvin
• Keywords: Column Generation, EOR 2010, Information Technology, Time Windows, Vehicle