Efficiency in logistics is often affected by the fair distribution of the customers along the routes and the available depots for goods delivery. From this perspective, in this study, the Multi-depot Vehicle Routing Problem (MDVRP), by considering two objectives, is addressed. The two objectives in conflict for MDVRP are the distance traveled by vehicles and the standard deviation of the routes’ length. A significant standard deviation value provides a small distance traveled by vehicles, translated into unbalanced routes. We have used a weighted average objective function involving the two objectives. A Variable Neighborhood Search algorithm within a Chu-Beasley Genetic Algorithm has been proposed to solve the problem. For decision-making purposes, several values are chosen for the weight factors multiplying the terms at the objective function to build up a non-dominated front of solutions. The methodology is tested in large-size instances for the MDVRP, reporting noticeable results for managerial insights.

Suppliers can use different strategies to distribute their products, Among the most common complex optimization problems related to the transportation of products is the traveling salesman problem. In the traveling-salesman problem, a route is chosen that visits each node exactly once, taking into account the shortest travel time, and finally returns to the original node. In this problem, all nodes must be visited. If we consider the application of this problem in logistics, we can study the necessity of this problem in transportation means such as trucks or drones. The upcoming paper is thoroughly studied and researched considering the related articles published in the last three decades, and bibliometric analysis is used for the details of this problem. This paper aims to statistically evaluate the influence and importance of the traveling salesman on logistics without considering financial risk by presenting an analysis of the works published between 1983 and 2023. As part of our comprehensive literature review table with analysis of export, we will conduct a comprehensive review of the most relevant articles in the field from 2020 to 2023 to better understand the trend in the subject in the last few years. Data were obtained from the Web of Science and focused on metrics such as the total number of publications, citations, average citations per publication, and trending countries. Graphical and statistical analysis was performed using Excel and R-Studio. China, the USA, and Germany are the countries with the most publications. Laporte is the most prolific author with 8 publications. Much research has been done on this topic, especially in the Journal of transportation research part E-logistic with 43 articles, and the main application areas are logistics, vehicles, and drones. These data may prove useful to researchers seeking an overview of the traveling salesman problem to determine future research directions.

Operations with Electric Vehicles (EVs) on logistic companies and power utilities are increasingly related due to the charging stations representing the point of standard coupling between transportation and power networks. From this perspective, the Multi-depot Electric Vehicle Routing Problem (MDEVRP) is addressed in this research, considering a novel hybrid matheheuristic approach combining exact approaches and a Chu-Beasley Genetic Algorithm. An existing conflict is shown in three objectives handled through the experimentations: routing cost, cost of charging stations, and increased cost due to energy losses. EVs driving range is chosen as the parameter to perform the sensitivity analysis of the proposed MDEVRP. A 25-customer transportation network conforms to a newly designed test instance for methodology validation, spatially combined with a 33 nodes power distribution system.

The 0-1 Multidimensional Knapsack Problem (MKP) is an NP-Hard problem that has many important applications in business and industry. However, business and industrial applications typically involve large problem instances that can be time consuming to solve for a guaranteed optimal solution. There are many approximate solution approaches, heuristics and metaheuristics, for the MKP published in the literature, but these typically require the fine-tuning of several parameters. Fine-tuning parameters is not only time-consuming (especially for operations research (OR) practitioners), but also implies that solution quality can be compromised if the problem instances being solved change in nature. In this paper, we demonstrate an efficient and effective implementation of a robust population-based metaheuristic that does not require parameter fine-tuning and can easily be used by OR practitioners to solve industrial size problems. Specifically, to solve the MKP, we provide an efficient adaptation of the two-phase Teaching-Learning Based Optimization (TLBO) approach that was originally designed to solve continuous nonlinear engineering design optimization problems. Empirical results using the 270 MKP test problems available in Beasley’s OR-Library demonstrate that our implementation of TLBO for the MKP is competitive with published solution approaches without the need for time-consuming parameter fine-tuning.

This article presents a new approach to address the problem of joint planning of physical and financial flows. The main contribution of this work is that it integrates supply chain contracts and also focuses on supply chain tactical planning in an uncertain and disrupted environment, taking into account budgetary and contractual constraints. In order to minimize the effect of disturbances due to existing uncertainties, a planning model is developed and implemented on a rolling horizon basis. The goal is to seek the best compromise between the available decision-making levers linked with physical and financial flows by adopting a dynamic process that allows for data update at each planning stage. The results of the implemented approach are analysed to highlight the benefits incurred by the inter-firm collaboration in terms of operational performance and working capital (WC) of the supply chain. Our approach represents a basis for negotiation with the suppliers in order to yield a possibly shared profit.

The storage of goods plays a crucial role in warehouse management systems. Although this operation is often considered simple, it is in fact complex, due to the volume of products, the uncertainty in demands, and the rapid customer service response that the market requires. Moreover, the optimization of logistical resources to maintain an efficient operational flow, such as the allocation of storage spaces, often requires complex decisions. In this paper, we analyze academic contributions on the storage location assignment problem published between 2005 and 2017. The literature is classified according to the solution methods, objectives, and related considerations. Suggestions are also provided for future research.

In an operating business amidst fierce competition, the operational process needs to be developed and improved in order to reduce logistics costs which are hidden costs in all business activities. This study aimed to investigate guidelines for reducing logistics costs in the industrial business sector, and to develop a structural equations model. It was conducted quantitatively and qualitatively.

We study an inventory routing problem (IRP) for the restaurant chain. We proposed a model a multi-product multi-vehicle IRP (MMIRP) with multi-compatibility and site-dependency (MMIRP-MCSD). The problem was formulated as a mixed integer programming (MIP). This model is difficult to solve because it is a problem that integrates MMIRP, a multi-compartment vehicle routing problem (MCVRP), and a site dependent VRP (SDVRP), each of which is difficult even by itself. Therefore, in this study, we proposed three-stage Math Heuristics based on the cluster-first and route-second method. In the numerical experiment, verification was performed using actual data, and knowledge on the decision making of the optimum vehicle type was obtained.

In this paper, we present a new decision-making tool aimed at improving the efficiency of the operational planning of pick-up processes in logistic distribution centers. It is based on a memetic algorithm (MA) solving both the Order Batching Problem (OBP) and the Order Picking Problem (OPP). The result yields a sequence of simultaneous pick up operations of lots for different clients in a storing facility, satisfying a previously defined distribution plan. The objective is the minimization of the operational cost of the entire process, which is directly proportional to the time spent on different activities involved. The failure to satisfy the conditions, either leads to overstocking, delays in delivery or creates inefficiency costs. The analysis of the results obtained with our algorithmic tool indicates that it has a good performance in comparison with other known algorithms used to solve this kind of problem.