A Transportation Optimization Model for Solving the Single Delivery Truck Routing Problem with the Alldifferent Constraint in MS Excel

Abstract

Smart city consists of smart transportation which helps to minimize the use of resources. In this paper, we focus on how to design a mathematical framework with its objective function and constraints in Solver in MS Excel to solve the Single Delivery Truck Routing Problem. The routing optimization problem is particularly useful and finds applicability in various industrial areas, including solid waste management, warehouse order picking, manufacturing, and logistical planning. Let us consider a distribution center, i.e., a factory, at one location that has to send a truck daily with refills to retail centers located in a set of N-1 neighboring locations. The distances or travel times between pairs of neighboring locations are given as an N × N matrix. The distribution center wishes to route the truck from the origin to all other retail centers and back to the origin such that the distance or time traveled is minimized. For example, a so-called greedy algorithm will always find the local move for the next best connection possible route and provides a solution of X_Greedy that is optimal at that move. Can we find a route that is better, i.e., shorter than X_Greedy? Different types of mathematical algorithms, among which heuristics such as genetic algorithm or particle swarm optimization can be used to address the problem. This paper offers another approach in solving the proposed problem with the MS Excel Solver. The numerical example given in this research work is intuitive and can be easily modified to deal with further complex planning problems.