The multi-constraint team orienteering problem with time windows in the context of distribution problems: A variable neighborhood search algorithm

In this paper we present a new model for the multi-constraint team orienteering problem with time windows (MCTOPTW) in the context of distribution problems, the resulting problem is called the capacitated team orienteering problem with time windows abbreviated as CTOPTW. In this problem, a set of vertices is given each with a known demand, a profit, a service time and a time window. The objective is to create a set of a predetermined number of routes that maximizes the total collected profit such that the time restriction and the vehicle capacity constraints are respected on each route. We propose a new variable neighborhood search algorithm to solve this problem. Computational results on the test instances available in the literature show that the proposed algorithm is competitive with other existing approaches in the literature and it is able to achieve a new best known solutions.