A heuristic Algorithm for the periodic vehicle routing problem with flexible delivery dates

Abstract

The periodic vehicle routing problem (PVRP) is a generalization of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) to a planning period of more than one day. A fleet of vehicles needs to deliver goods periodically to each customer so that the delivery dates meet the request of the customer. This paper introduces a new model of PVRP, the periodic vehicle routing problem with flexible delivery dates, which covers a wider range of applications and is able to answer more diverse customer requirements. We propose an algorithm based on iterated local search (ILS), which is a metaheuristic approach that involves an iterative application of a local search algorithm and the use of perturbation as a diversification mechanism. Computational results show that our proposed method performed competitively in solving the standard PVRP. Moreover, we confirm that our new model can reduce the cost for more general instances.