Modeling and Optimization of Multi-echelon Transportation systems - a hybrid approach

Abstract

The efficient and timely distribution of freight goods is critical for supporting the demands of modern urban areas. Optimum freight ensures the survival and development of urban areas. In the contemporary logistic there are two main distribution strategies: direct distribution and multi-echelon distribution. In the direct distribution, means of transport, starting from the main distribution center, bring their freight directly to the delivery points, while in the multi-echelon systems, freight is delivered from the main distribution center to the delivery points through intermediate points (local warehouses, satellites). This study presents a concept and implementation of a integrated approach to modeling and optimization the MultiEchelon Systems. In the proposed approach, two methods of constraint logic programming (CLP) and mathematical programming (MP) were integrated and hybridized. The proposed hybrid approach will be compared with classical mathematical programming on the same data sets (known benchmarks) for illustrative multi-echelon model — Two-Echelon Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (2E-CVRP).