An Emission-Minimizing Vehicle Routing Problem with Heterogeneous Vehicles and Pathway Selection (original) (raw)
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In the realm of freight transportation, oil is the primary source of energy consumption. Therefore, assessing energy efficiency in this field involves examining various aspects, such as modal distribution, industrial structure, regulatory framework, management capabilities, and technology adoption. Improving energy efficiency in freight transportation has the potential to directly enhance economic viability, making it a worthwhile pursuit. Energy conservation in freight transportation should not be seen as a burden or sacrifice, but rather as an opportunity to increase the productivity and competitiveness of companies. Effective distribution systems can lead to significant cost savings for companies by managing customer locations and utilizing the necessary means and resources for physical goods distribution. The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is a significant challenge in this domain. It involves constructing routes from a warehouse to a specific number of clients within a defined geographical area. The Green Vehicle Routing Problem (G-VRP) is a potential alternative solution to mitigate energy consumption. To address this, a thorough examination of its current applications and constraints is necessary.
Multi-objective Vehicle Routing Problem with Cost and Emission Functions
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Among the logistics activities, transportation, is presented as a major source of air pollution in Europe, generating harmful levels of air pollutants and is responsible for up to 24% of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions in the European Union. The growing environmental concern related to the economic activity has been transferred to the field of transport and logistics in recent decades. Therefore, environmental targets are to be added to economic targets in the decision-making, to find the right balance between these two dimensions. In real life, there are many situations and problems that are recognized as multi-objective problems. This type of problems containing multiple criteria to be met or must be taken into account. Often these criteria are in conflict with each other and there is no single solution that simultaneously satisfies everyone. Vehicle routing problems (VRP) are frequently used to model real cases, which are often established with the sole objective of minimizing the internal costs. However, in real life other factors could be taken into account, such as environmental issues. Moreover, in industry, a fleet of vehicles is rarely homogeneous. The need to be present in different segments of the market, forcing many companies to have vehicles that suit the type of goods transported. Similarly, to have vehicles of different load capacities enables a better adaptation to the customer demand. This paper proposes a multi-objective model based on Tchebycheff methods for VRP with a heterogeneous fleet, in which vehicles are characterized by different capacities, costs and emissions factors. Three objective functions are used to minimize the total internal costs, while minimizing the CO2 emissions and the emission of air pollutants such as NOx. Moreover, this study develops an algorithm based on C&W savings heuristic to solve the model when time windows are not considered. Finally, a real case application is analyzed to confirm the practicality of the model and the algorithm.