A Capacitated Vehicle Routing Model for Distribution and Repair with a Service Center

<i>Background:</i> Distribution systems often face the dual challenge of delivering products to customers and retrieving damaged items for repair, especially when the service center is separate from the depot. An optimized solution to this logistics problem produces benefits in terms of...

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Main Authors: Irma-Delia Rojas-Cuevas, Elias Olivares-Benitez, Alfredo S. Ramos, Samuel Nucamendi-Guillén
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Logistics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/9/1/28
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author Irma-Delia Rojas-Cuevas
Elias Olivares-Benitez
Alfredo S. Ramos
Samuel Nucamendi-Guillén
author_facet Irma-Delia Rojas-Cuevas
Elias Olivares-Benitez
Alfredo S. Ramos
Samuel Nucamendi-Guillén
author_sort Irma-Delia Rojas-Cuevas
collection DOAJ
description <i>Background:</i> Distribution systems often face the dual challenge of delivering products to customers and retrieving damaged items for repair, especially when the service center is separate from the depot. An optimized solution to this logistics problem produces benefits in terms of costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and disposal reduction. <i>Methods:</i> This research proposes a Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem with Service Center (CVRPwSC) model to determine optimal routes involving customers, the depot, and the service center. AMPL-Gurobi was used to solve the model on adapted instances and new instances developed for the CVRPwSC. Additionally, a Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) algorithm was implemented and compared with AMPL-Gurobi. <i>Results:</i> The model was applied to a real-world case study, achieving a 40% reduction in fuel costs, a reduction from 5 to 3 routes, and a sustainable logistics operations model with potential reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and item disposals. <i>Conclusions:</i> The main contribution of the proposal is a minimum-cost routing model integrating item returns for repair with customer deliveries, while the limitation is the exclusion of scenarios where return items exceed vehicle capacity. Finally, future research will enhance the CVRPwSC model by incorporating additional constraints and decision variables to address such scenarios.
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publishDate 2025-02-01
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series Logistics
spelling doaj-art-ea4adfd31a8f49478818bb5975c882d12025-08-20T03:39:18ZengMDPI AGLogistics2305-62902025-02-01912810.3390/logistics9010028A Capacitated Vehicle Routing Model for Distribution and Repair with a Service CenterIrma-Delia Rojas-Cuevas0Elias Olivares-Benitez1Alfredo S. Ramos2Samuel Nucamendi-Guillén3Departamento de Ingenierías, Tecnológico Nacional de México Campus Puebla, Av. Tecnológico 420, Puebla 72000, Puebla, MexicoFacultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Panamericana, Alvaro del Portillo 49, Zapopan 45010, Jalisco, MexicoFacultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Panamericana, Alvaro del Portillo 49, Zapopan 45010, Jalisco, MexicoFacultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Panamericana, Alvaro del Portillo 49, Zapopan 45010, Jalisco, Mexico<i>Background:</i> Distribution systems often face the dual challenge of delivering products to customers and retrieving damaged items for repair, especially when the service center is separate from the depot. An optimized solution to this logistics problem produces benefits in terms of costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and disposal reduction. <i>Methods:</i> This research proposes a Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem with Service Center (CVRPwSC) model to determine optimal routes involving customers, the depot, and the service center. AMPL-Gurobi was used to solve the model on adapted instances and new instances developed for the CVRPwSC. Additionally, a Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) algorithm was implemented and compared with AMPL-Gurobi. <i>Results:</i> The model was applied to a real-world case study, achieving a 40% reduction in fuel costs, a reduction from 5 to 3 routes, and a sustainable logistics operations model with potential reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and item disposals. <i>Conclusions:</i> The main contribution of the proposal is a minimum-cost routing model integrating item returns for repair with customer deliveries, while the limitation is the exclusion of scenarios where return items exceed vehicle capacity. Finally, future research will enhance the CVRPwSC model by incorporating additional constraints and decision variables to address such scenarios.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/9/1/28vehicle routingpickup and deliveryVNS
spellingShingle Irma-Delia Rojas-Cuevas
Elias Olivares-Benitez
Alfredo S. Ramos
Samuel Nucamendi-Guillén
A Capacitated Vehicle Routing Model for Distribution and Repair with a Service Center
Logistics
vehicle routing
pickup and delivery
VNS
title A Capacitated Vehicle Routing Model for Distribution and Repair with a Service Center
title_full A Capacitated Vehicle Routing Model for Distribution and Repair with a Service Center
title_fullStr A Capacitated Vehicle Routing Model for Distribution and Repair with a Service Center
title_full_unstemmed A Capacitated Vehicle Routing Model for Distribution and Repair with a Service Center
title_short A Capacitated Vehicle Routing Model for Distribution and Repair with a Service Center
title_sort capacitated vehicle routing model for distribution and repair with a service center
topic vehicle routing
pickup and delivery
VNS
url https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/9/1/28
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