Study of Fair Strategy for Merchant Self-Operated Takeaway Delivery Based on Delivery Plan Optimization

With the increasing demand for takeaway delivery, more merchants are developing their takeaway delivery system to manage order fulfillment and enhance the consumer online experience. This study presents a mathematical model for merchant-operated takeaway delivery, using an improved ant colony algori...

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Main Authors: Jing Chen, Chengbo Guo, Jiahua Kou, Jiali Du, Shufa Sun, Yanling Guo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6650
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author Jing Chen
Chengbo Guo
Jiahua Kou
Jiali Du
Shufa Sun
Yanling Guo
author_facet Jing Chen
Chengbo Guo
Jiahua Kou
Jiali Du
Shufa Sun
Yanling Guo
author_sort Jing Chen
collection DOAJ
description With the increasing demand for takeaway delivery, more merchants are developing their takeaway delivery system to manage order fulfillment and enhance the consumer online experience. This study presents a mathematical model for merchant-operated takeaway delivery, using an improved ant colony algorithm integrated with K-means to cluster customer locations and determine optimal routes. We propose two fairness strategies—order quantity and travel distance—to ensure equitable workload distribution among riders. The K-means algorithm is enhanced by reallocating cluster assignments based on the nodes’ distances to all cluster centers. The simulation results demonstrate that the designed algorithm and strategies generate efficient optimal delivery plans for merchants.
format Article
id doaj-art-5f9e43921f6842709694a4e84f975236
institution OA Journals
issn 2076-3417
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Applied Sciences
spelling doaj-art-5f9e43921f6842709694a4e84f9752362025-08-20T02:24:39ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-06-011512665010.3390/app15126650Study of Fair Strategy for Merchant Self-Operated Takeaway Delivery Based on Delivery Plan OptimizationJing Chen0Chengbo Guo1Jiahua Kou2Jiali Du3Shufa Sun4Yanling Guo5College of Civil Engineering and Transport, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering and Transport, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering and Transport, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering and Transport, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering and Transport, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Mechatronics Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaWith the increasing demand for takeaway delivery, more merchants are developing their takeaway delivery system to manage order fulfillment and enhance the consumer online experience. This study presents a mathematical model for merchant-operated takeaway delivery, using an improved ant colony algorithm integrated with K-means to cluster customer locations and determine optimal routes. We propose two fairness strategies—order quantity and travel distance—to ensure equitable workload distribution among riders. The K-means algorithm is enhanced by reallocating cluster assignments based on the nodes’ distances to all cluster centers. The simulation results demonstrate that the designed algorithm and strategies generate efficient optimal delivery plans for merchants.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6650merchant self-operated takeaway deliveryK-means algorithmant colony algorithmorder quantity fair strategytravel distance fair strategy
spellingShingle Jing Chen
Chengbo Guo
Jiahua Kou
Jiali Du
Shufa Sun
Yanling Guo
Study of Fair Strategy for Merchant Self-Operated Takeaway Delivery Based on Delivery Plan Optimization
Applied Sciences
merchant self-operated takeaway delivery
K-means algorithm
ant colony algorithm
order quantity fair strategy
travel distance fair strategy
title Study of Fair Strategy for Merchant Self-Operated Takeaway Delivery Based on Delivery Plan Optimization
title_full Study of Fair Strategy for Merchant Self-Operated Takeaway Delivery Based on Delivery Plan Optimization
title_fullStr Study of Fair Strategy for Merchant Self-Operated Takeaway Delivery Based on Delivery Plan Optimization
title_full_unstemmed Study of Fair Strategy for Merchant Self-Operated Takeaway Delivery Based on Delivery Plan Optimization
title_short Study of Fair Strategy for Merchant Self-Operated Takeaway Delivery Based on Delivery Plan Optimization
title_sort study of fair strategy for merchant self operated takeaway delivery based on delivery plan optimization
topic merchant self-operated takeaway delivery
K-means algorithm
ant colony algorithm
order quantity fair strategy
travel distance fair strategy
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6650
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