Title :
The optimization of routing in fourth-party logistics with soft time windows using harmony search
Author :
Huang, Min ; Bo, Guihua ; Wang, Xingwei ; Ip, W.H.
Author_Institution :
Key Lab. of Integrated Autom. of Process Ind., Northeastern Univ., Shenyang, China
Abstract :
To maximize the degree of customers´ satisfaction, benefit third-party-logistics providers and minimize transport costs simultaneously, fourth-party logistics needs to design an optimal route from a supply node to a demand node. In this paper, the mathematical model of the point-to-point single task path optimization in fourth-party logistic with soft time window (4PLRPSTW) is set up. To solve the model, a meta-heuristic optimization method called a harmony search (HS) is suggested. The experimental result is compared with the enumeration algorithm, and it shows that this algorithm can find the satisfactory solution and is a powerful optimization method for solving 4PLRPSTW.
Keywords :
cost reduction; customer satisfaction; logistics; minimisation; search problems; supply chain management; customer satisfaction; demand node; enumeration algorithm; fourth-party logistics; harmony search; mathematical model; metaheuristic optimization method; optimal route; point-to-point single task path optimization; routing optimization; soft time windows; supply node; transport cost minimization; Algorithm design and analysis; Approximation algorithms; Mathematical model; Optimization; Routing; Supply chains; fourth-party logistics; harmony search; routing problems; soft time windows;
Conference_Titel :
Natural Computation (ICNC), 2010 Sixth International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Yantai, Shandong
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-5958-2
DOI :
10.1109/ICNC.2010.5583596
