Capacitated vehicle routing problems with heterogeneous fleet

This independent study focuses on solving the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem for a beverage distributor in Thailand, addressing the challenges posed by heterogeneous fleet vehicles, limited driver working hours, and customer-specific time windows. The study aims to minimize logistics costs by optimizing delivery routes and schedules. The mathematical model formulated in this project considers multiple constraints, such as vehicle capacity, demand at each customer location, and time limitations, and aims to find the optimal routes for a fleet of three types of trucks: small 4-wheelers, big 4-wheelers, and 6-wheelers. The research first applies a mixed-integer linear programming model to small-scale problems to achieve optimal solutions, followed by the development of heuristics for large-scale problems, where exact solutions may not be computationally feasible. The results, derived from data collected from a real beverage distributor’s operations in the Eastern part of Thailand, demonstrate the potential of this approach to reduce operational costs and improve logistical efficiency. The study concludes that the proposed methods can effectively manage complexities of heterogeneous fleets, providing a practical solution to the logistics challenges faced by beverage distributors in the region.