On Solutions to Vehicle Routing Problems Using Swarm Optimization Techniques: A Review

Abstract

Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is among the intensively studied problem in the field of operations research. The literature of VRP has spread to dozens of variants that are studied till now, which makes the problem more complex. Due to its complexity and several real-time constraints, it is difficult to find optimal solutions for VRP models. In recent decades, swarm optimization techniques have emerged as promising solution to solve these problems optimally. The purpose of this research is to develop structural classification of different domains and attributes of VRP solved using swarm techniques. The findings of the study show the most studied attributes, capacitated VRP, time windows VRP, objective function with cost minimization and the least studied attributes, maximization objective function. The VRP literature is summarized in a manner that provides a clear view to identify future research directions.