Optimizing the Vehicle Scheduling Problem for Just-in-Time Delivery Considering Carbon Emissions and Atmospheric Particulate Matter

Abstract

The coordinated development of companies and ecological protection are possible only with increasing environmental awareness. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how companies can achieve sustainable development. It is found that the scientific implementation of the vehicle scheduling problem (VSP) for just-in-time (JIT) delivery in the raw material procurement logistics of iron and steel companies can reduce the carbon emissions in the VSP process and, taking into account the negative correlation between weather conditions and PM10, can effectively reduce PM10. On this basis, a multiobjective optimization model is constructed with the objectives of minimizing carbon emissions and PM10 along with the traditional objective of cost optimization. A greedy algorithm with high computational efficiency and an embedded genetic algorithm (GA) is used to further improve the response time of the VSP. Verification shows that in practice, the model enables companies to effectively reduce not only logistics costs but also PM10 and carbon emissions; in theory, the model expands the applicability of JIT to all value-added activities, exploring all value-added activities in different spatial and temporal dimensions to achieve the optimal combination of company cost, environmental effects, and weather dimensions.