Mathematical models and a two-phase method for solving a multi-depot inventory routing problem with perishable products

This thesis revolutionizes perishable goods delivery by addressing the limitations of pre-defined routes in traditional inventory routing. It proposes an arc-based model specifically designed for perishables, considering factors like shelf life and deterioration to optimize delivery schedules and inventory management. To ensure efficient calculations, the model utilizes innovative linearization techniques. Additionally, a novel “inventory-first, route-second” heuristic is proposed. This heuristic focuses on determining optimal inventory levels based on shelf life and demand forecasts before optimizing delivery routes to minimize total costs. A comprehensive analysis compares the effectiveness of both the model's linearization and the heuristic approach, providing valuable insights for real-world application in the perishable goods supply chain. It can be concluded that for small-scale problems, the proposed heuristic can reduce the average running time by 80.63%. For large-scale problems, while the solution time is similar to that of the Linearization Model, the proposed heuristic method achieves better objective values.