Joint Distribution Center Location Problem for Restaurant Industry Based on Improved K-Means Algorithm with Penalty

Abstract

The location of joint distribution center (JDC) is of great importance in urban freight system. This work aims to minimize the total cost, including the fixed cost, the transportation cost, and the penalty cost for the missed deliveries, considering the joint distribution willingness (JDW) of restaurant and the coverage radius of JDC. The integer programming model is formulated to select the optimal location of JDC and opens no more than k-JDCs. To solve the problem, an improved K-means (I-K-means) algorithm combining local search with penalty is proposed. The delivery problems obtained by freight survey from 114 restaurants in Beijing, China are taken as a case study. The formulation in this paper can reduce the cost of deliveries in restaurant industry, decrease the number of freight vehicles on road, and promote the joint distribution mode in urban freight system.