The application of sweep algorithm and nearest neighbor algorithm for solving multiple trips heterogeneous fleet vehicle routing problem of subsidized gas distribution

Abstract

Distribution is an action of supplying goods and services from one place to another. This company is an official agency which its main business is distributing subsidized Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Every day the company distributes to 29-agents that bounded by a company contract. The number of deliveries everyday varies depending on the agents’ demands. The company has 3 fleet vehicles, which are a six-wheel truck, 2 four-wheel trucks, and 2 three-wheel motorcycles. Those vehicles have different load capacity and some of them are able to distribute goods more than once in a day, therefore the company is facing Multiple Trips Heterogeneous Fleet Vehicle Routing Problem (MTHFVRP). At the moment the company does not know whether the vehicle routing they have now is the most effective and efficient. A solution is needed to determine a better distribution route in order to minimize the company's cost by using sweep algorithm to cluster all agents based on their vicinity. After clustering, establishment of distribution routes is created by using nearest neighbor algorithm with taking into account the minimum distance between the agents in order to produce an effective and efficient distribution route. Based on the result, distribution route created using sweep algorithm and nearest neighbor algorithm are able to generate effective and efficient distribution routes, so that the company can minimize the cost of current distribution route as much as 118,834.86 IDR/day or 2,852,036.64 IDR/month.