Author(s): Ferreira, Inês A. ; Bento, Catarina ; Mascarenhas, Luís ; Pimentel, Carina Maria Oliveira ; Carvalho, Helena
Date: 2023
Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/86280
Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Subject(s): Last-mile delivery; Heuristics; Vehicle routing problem; Delivery and assembly routes; Logistics
The number of variants of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) has grown rapidly in the last decades. Among these, VRPs with time window constraints are among the most studied ones. However, the literature regarding VRPs that concerns the delivery and installation of products is scarce. The main aim of this study was to propose a heuristic approach for the route planning process of a company whose focus is on furniture delivery and assembly and, thus, contributing to the research around the Delivery and Installation Routing Problem. The case study method was used, and two scenarios were compared: the current scenario (showing the routes created by the company worker); and the future scenario (representing the routes created by the heuristic). Results show that the proposed heuristic approach provided a feasible solution to the problem, allowing it to affect customers and teams without compromising the teams’ competencies and respecting all constraints.
