A New Variable Neighborhood Search Algorithm for the Multi Depot Heterogeneous Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows

The Multi Depot Heterogeneous Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (MDHVRPTW) is an important variant of the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), which is complex and still not resolved well. To solve the problem, mathematical model of the MDHVRPTW is constructed and a modified variable neighborhood search algorithm is proposed. In the algorithm, a hybrid operator of insert and exchange are used to achieve the shaking process, the Best-improvement strategy is adopted, and it can make the algorithm to achieve a better balance in the solution quality and running time. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested on the benchmark instances proposed by Golden and compared with other algorithms in the literature. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm is competitive and feasible in solving the MDHVRPTW.