An intelligence system for a car-carrier loading optimization

The route planning and vehicle positioning process for car-carriers in the finished vehicle logistics business is currently a manual and time-consuming task, resulting in suboptimal solutions due to variations in individual planner logic. This research aims to develop and validate a standardized mathematical model for car-carrier route planning to obtain optimal solutions. By addressing the vehicle routing problem specifically for car-carriers, this study aims to derive a tailored mathematical model.Different methods exist for solving vehicle routing problems, including exact and heuristic methods. Due to the exponential increase in computational complexity with the number of cities or nodes, exact methods are time and resources intensive. Hence, a heuristic approach is adopted if it satisfies the problem's constraints and conditions.To ensure a user-friendly experience and leverage existing expertise with MS Excel, an intelligence system will be developed using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). VBA, a programming language designed for automation within the Microsoft Office suite, enables seamless integration into Excel, facilitating a familiar and intuitive interface for users.The accuracy of the algorithm will be evaluated by comparing the results generated by the intelligent system with historical data manually planned by human planners. This assessment will quantify planning utilization based on the number of trailers used, enabling an evaluation of the algorithm's performance.By automating and optimizing the route planning process, this research aims to reduce the reliance on manual planning and enhance overall efficiency and resource utilization in the finished vehicle logistics business.