A Milk-run Approach of Truck Scheduling Problem: Mathematical Formulation and Genetic Algorithm

摘要

The notion of milk-run has recently gained popularity in the literature and practice as it focuses on reducing transportation cost and achieving just-in-time delivery of materials. In this paper, we propose a novel mathematical formulation of the milk-run problem and a genetic algorithm (GA). In our formulation, we consider the current rules and regulations in the US transportation industry, such as the maximum allowed traveling and working hours. Also, we consider the case when the shipment size at each vendor is one trailer and the deliveries have a time window. Moreover, we show that the proposed milk-run approach can achieve cost savings and reduce the transportation planning efforts based on a case study of a third-party logistics firm (3PL) in the US.