Vehicle Routing Optimization in Logistics Distribution Using Hybrid Ant Colony Algorithm

Abstract

The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is an important management problem in the field of physical distribution and logistics. Good vehicle routing can not only increase the profit of logistics but also make logistics management more scientific. The Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) constrained by the capacity of a vehicle is the extension of VRP. Our research applies a two-phase algorithm to address CVRP. It takes the advantages of Simulated Annealing (SA) and ant colony optimization for solving the capacitated vehicle routing problem. In the first phase of proposed algorithm, simulated annealing provides a good initial solution for ant colony optimization. In the second phase, Iterative Local Search (ILS) method is employed to seeking the close-to-optimal solution in local scope based on the capacity of the vehicle. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is superior to original ant colony optimization and simulated annealing separately reported on partial benchmark problems. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v11i9.3284