ISSN 0005-1179, Automation and Remote Control, 2010, Vol. 71, No. 10, pp. 21322144.

c Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2010. Original Russian Text c E.M. Bronshtein, T.A. Zaiko, 2010, published in Avtomatika i Telemekhanika, 2010, No. 10, pp. 133147.

LOGISTICS

Deterministic Optimizational Problems of Transportation Logistics1

E. M. Bronshtein and T. A. Zaiko
Ufa State Aviation Technical University, Ufa, Russia
Received January 12, 2010

AbstractWe give a survey of a wide class of transportation logistics problems, in which we consider, from a unied standpoint, both discrete (e.g., routing) and continuous (e.g., classical transport) problems. We single out a collection of elementary premises that underlie such problems, give corresponding mathematical models and approaches to the solution. We also consider a new multinomenclature transportation logistics problem. DOI: 10.1134/S0005117910100127

1. INTRODUCTION Problems of organizing transportation, together with problems of loading vehicles and allocating transport agents, constitute one of the most important classes of transportation logistics problems. We assume that the goal is to minimize the cost of delivering the loads to consumers. There exist problems with other target functions (e.g., the total time of delivery), but they can usually be reformulated in such a way that the target function has economical meaning. At present, there exist many similar problems that take into account dierent real-life constraints. There have been developed several algorithms for approximate search of optimal solutions, since for most problems nding an exact solution is too computationally complex. Such problems are usually N P -complete. The purpose of this work is to classify such transportation logistics problems, survey several mathematical models, and also formulate and analyze a new multinomenclature problem. Analyzing dierent variations of existing problem settings for organizing transportation, we have concluded that there are several basic features by which the problems can be classied. Lately, several surveys of similar problems have appeared (see, e.g., [13]). The classication we give here diers somewhat from the ones in these surveys. Several electronic resources are devoted to routing problems (e.g., [46], including a Russian language resource [7]). Section 2 presents a hierarchical classication of the meaningful features of considered problems. Section 3 gives the corresponding formalization. Section 4 discusses a multinomenclature routing problems and presents heuristic approaches to solving it. 2. FEATURES OF TRANSPORTATION LOGISTICS PROBLEMS (1) Production points. (1.1) There is a single production point. This usually happens when there is a warehouse (base) from which deliveries to various consumers are performed. (1.2) There are several production points. This situation usually arises when loads are transported from several suppliers to the consumers. Another example is passenger transportation (e.g., when organizing a taxi service). In this case, the loading point for each passenger can be considered a production point.
1

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 07-06-00021. 2132

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(2) Consumption points. (2.1) There is a single consumption point. This usually happens when products from dierent places have to be transported to a warehouse or a certication point. (2.2) There are several consumption points. This is the most common situation, and its interpretation is similar to item (1.2). (3) Road network. (3.1) A road is characterized by a single parameter. (3.2) A road is characterized by several parameters (transportation cost, distance, weight throughput, size, speed limits, etc.). (3.2.1) All characteristics that we take into account depend on the distance additively. (3.2.2) There are non-additive characteristics (e.g., the throughput). (4) Amount of load. (4.1) The amount of load is characterized by a real number (continuous problem). (4.1.1) A single number. (4.1.2) Several numbers. (4.2) The amount of load is characterized by an integer (discrete problem). (4.2.1) A single integer. (4.2.2) Several integers. (5) Vehicle bases (depots). (5.1) A single base. (5.2) Several bases. (5.3) Bases coincide with production points. (6) Load type. (6.1) Problems with uniform load. (6.2) Multiproduct problems. (7) Vehicle type. (7.1) A single vehicle. (7.2) All vehicles are identical. (7.3) Vehicles dier. (8) Vehicle capacity constraints. (8.1) There are constraints only in one parameter. (8.2) There are constraints in several parameters. (9) Constraints on transported loads. (9.1) There are loads that a certain vehicle cannot transport. (9.2) For each vehicle, there are restrictions on dierent kinds of transported loads. (9.3) There exist restrictions of transporting certain load types together in one vehicle. (10) Transportation conditions. (10.1) When transporting the load from each production point to each consumption point, only one vehicle can be used regardless of the load being transported. (10.2) When transporting the load from each production point, one vehicle can deliver loads to various consumption points. (10.3) A single vehicle delivers loads from dierent production points to each consumption point. (10.4) Vehicles may collect loads in various production points and transport it to various consumption points. (10.5) Consumption and production points may coincide. (10.5.1) Some points may consume and produce at the same time. (10.5.2) All points are dierent. (11) Time restrictions. (11.1) Loads must be taken from production points at certain specied time windows.
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(12)

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

(11.2) Loads must be delivered to consumption points at certain specied time windows. (11.3) The maximal duration of a transportation route is limited. (11.4) The maximal time a vehicle can spend en route is limited. (11.5) There are certain restrictions on the sequence of transportation. Special transportation conditions. (12.1) Each load type must be delivered from a certain production point to a certain consumption point (taxi service). (12.2) Vehicles cannot run empty (except for the initial and nal route segments). Factors aecting transportation cost. (13.1) Transportation cost depends only on the distance. (13.2) Transportation cost depends on a vehicles load. (13.2.1) Transportation cost is proportional to the load. Return conditions. (14.1) A vehicle must return to its original base. (14.2) A vehicle must return to some base. (14.3) A vehicle may nish its route anywhere. Taking into account the packing inside a vehicle (for the discrete problem setting). Under this condition, the problem has constraints on the location of boxes inside the vehicle, and also constraints on the loading/unloading sequence, the stack principle (LIF O). Determinacy. (16.1) Static problem, i.e., orders do not change during delivery. (16.2) Dynamic problem, i.e., orders may be added or canceled after planning.

We restrict this survey to static problems. A survey of dynamic routing problems (under uncertainty) can be found in [8]. Each problem has a certain set of constraints. At present, problems that take into account the time factor have become increasingly popular. This is not only due to the fact that orders must be fullled in due time, but also due to the increasingly restrictive labor legislation that prescribes how much time a vehicles driver can spend behind the wheel during the day. The given collection of features allows one to formulate a wide class of transportation logistics problems. Let us consider several of the most widely known problem settings. 3. SEVERAL PROBLEMS OF TRANSPORTATION LOGISTICS 3.1. Classical Transport Problem By using the specied features, one can describe the classical transport problem as a logistical problem. There are several production points (1.2) and several consumption points (2.2). The load is uniform (6.1), characterized by a single real number, the weight (4.1.1). To deliver any amount of load from each production point to each consumption point, a single vehicle is used (10.1). The transportation cost along any route is proportional to the weight of the load (13.2.1). A vehicle does not have to return to its original point (14.3). Depots coincide with production points (5.3). In the classical transport problem, each vehicles capacity exceeds the maximal possible supply in each production point. We introduce the following notation: nnumber of production points, mnumber of consumption points, dj demand at the jth consumption point, j M = {1, . . . , m}, zi supply at the ith production point, i N = {1, . . . , n},
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cij transportation cost from the ith production point to the jth consumption point per unit of load, xij amount of load that must be transported from the ith production point to the jth consumption point. For a closed problem
n i=1 zi

m j=1 dj

, the mathematical formalization looks as follows: xij

n

0,

(1) (2) (3) (4)

xij = dj ,
i=1 m

xij = zi ,
n j=1 m

cij xij min .

i=1 j=1

Thanks to the special structure of the transport problem as a linear optimization problem, there have been developed ecient methods of nding the optimal solution, e.g., the method of potentials (see, e.g., [9, 10]). If a vehicles capacity is restricted (all vehicles are identical, that is, property (7.2) holds, and the capacity equals S), then conditions (1)(3) must be augmented by the inequality xij S. (5)

The linear programming problem (1)(5) may be infeasible. 3.2. Matchings Another classical problem that belongs to this family is the minimal matching problem. Let the number of production points equal the number of consumption points (1.2), (2.2). Vehicles are assigned to production points (5.3), the load is uniform (6.1), the transportation cost from each production point to each consumption point depends only on the distance (13.1), and the load is delivered to each consumption point by a single vehicle (10.1). We introduce the following notation: nnumber of production and consumption points (N = {1, . . . , n}), cij transportation cost from the ith production point to the jth consumption point, xij a Boolean variable equal to one if and only if the load from the ith production point is transported to the jth consumption point. The problem can be formalized as follows:
n n

xij =
i=1 n m i=1 j=1 j=1

xij = 1,

(6) (7)

cij xij min .

This problem has many meaningful interpretations, the most popular of them being the assignment problem. There have been a lot of works devoted to the minimal matching problem (e.g., [11]), and a number of algorithms, both exact and approximate, have been developed.
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3.3. The Classical DantzigRamser Vehicle Routing Problem The rst vehicle routing problem was formulated by G. Dantzig and J. Ramser [12] and later became known as VRP, the Vehicle Routing Problem. A uniform product (6.1) in the necessary amount given by the weight, a real number (4.1.1), must be delivered to each consumer (2.2) from a warehouse (1.1) with vehicles of identical capacity (7.2). The transportation cost is determined by the road and does not depend on the load (13.1). We assume that only one vehicle may deliver the load to each point (10.1). Vehicles must return to base (14.1). We introduce the following notation: nnumber of consumption points; to unify notation, we assume that the warehouse has number 0; knumber of vehicles; di demand at the ith consumption point, i N = {1, . . . , n} (we additionally set d0 = 0); cij transportation cost from the ith point to the jth (i, j N {0}; we assume symmetry cij = cji and nonnegativity cij 0); Svehicle capacity. Combinatorially, a solution of this problem represents a partitioning of set N into k subsets S plus a permutation i of each of the {R1 , . . . , Rk } each of which satises condition jRi dj subsets that determines the sequence of load delivery to the consumers. This problem naturally leads to a complete weighted undirected graph whose vertices correspond to the base and the consumption points (there are n + 1 of them) with edge weights equal to cij (i, j N {0}). Assigning a Boolean variable xij to each graph edge (the number k may also be unknown), we get the following formulation of a Boolean programming problem:
n n

xi0 =
n i=1 i=1 n i=1 i=1

x0i = k,

(8) (9) (10)

xij =

xji = 1, j N. xij < |U |,

iU,jU

If U N, then if i1 , . . . , ir are a sequence from N such that

r j=1 n r1 j=1 xij ij+1

= r 1, then (11) (12)

q ij

S,

cij xij min .

i=0 j=0

Condition (9) means that each consumption point must belong to a unique path and must not be its end vertex. Condition (8) means that there are k such paths going through vertex 0, i.e., the set of edges is divided into cycles that may only intersect by vertex 0. Condition (10) means that there are no cycles with only consumption points. Condition (11) is a restriction on the vehicles capacity for transporting along each chain and, in particular, along each cycle. As a target function (12) we take, as we have already noted, the total delivery cost. There exist other mathematical models for the VRP, in particular, models explicitly using the fact that the graph is undirected. A natural necessary condition for the existence of an admissible solution for a given k (i.e., a famkS is not sucient. Moreover, checking ily of variables satisfying conditions (8)(11)) n di i=1
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admissibility is, even for the special case k = 3, an N P -complete problem [13]. Let us consider some special cases of the VRP. 3.3.1. The traveling salesperson problem. If there is only one vehicle (condition (7.1)), and inequality n di S is satised, then the problem is admissible and consists of constructing a cycle i=1 passing through all vertices of the graph on which the delivery cost is minimized along the entire path. 3.3.2. The multiple traveling salesperson problem. If n di S, and k is arbitrary, then each i=1 vehicle can deliver the load to each subset of consumption points. The problem reduces to constructing k cycles with common vertex 0 that together contain all graph vertices and minimize the total delivery cost. This problem can be easily transformed into the regular traveling salesperson problem by inserting k 1 additional copies of vertex 0 and adjacent edges, making all k vertices corresponding to the base pairwise non-adjacent. Sometimes this problem is called VRP, and the original problem is called CVRP (Capacitated VRP, see, e.g., [14]). The following problem is similar to VRP. 3.3.3. The knapsack problem. Let all edge weights be zero (all paths are equal), but each vehicle has a cost associated to it. The problem reduces to nding the minimal number of vehicles in which all product can be delivered to consumers. An exact solution of the VRP can be reached in reasonable time only in small dimensions. Branch-and-bound methods are used, sometimes with pruning [15, 16]. In particular, these methods can be implemented as follows. Let us choose admissible sets M N , i.e., such that jM dj S. Vertices of the admissible set can be ordered in such a way that the resulting cycle (including the base) has minimal delivery cost C(M ). Then we have to divide the set N into k admissible subsets M1 , . . . , Mk so that the sum k C(Mj ) is minimal. j=1 A number of heuristic algorithms have been developed (starting from [12]). Heuristic approaches include the following [17]: constructive, when some already constructed cycles are combined until vehicle capacity constraints become violated; modern, when some edges in constructed cycles are replaced with more protable ones; two-stage, when rst all consumption points are divided into k groups so that each group satises vehicle capacity constraints, and then the traveling salesperson problem is solved for each group; metaheuristics (simulated annealing, search with exclusions, genetic algorithms, etc.). Let us present the idea of a constructive algorithm of the ClarkeRight type [18] that has proven to be quite ecient for a wide class of problems. Initially, every cycle consists of edges (0, i) and (i, 0). On each step, we select pairs of cycles that can be united without violating vehicle capacity constraints, and among these pairs we select the one that maximizes the value of c0i + c0j cij (edges (0, i) and (0, j) belong to dierent cycles of the pair). Then, cycles are united by erasing edges (0, i) and (0, j) and adding edge (i, j). The process is repeated until the number of cycles is less than k, and it is impossible to unite them further. 3.4. Split Delivery VRP (SDVRP) In this version, we have assumed that vehicles dier in capacity and transportation cost. Thus, feature (7.2) is replaced with (7.3). Notation from problem (3.3) is modied as follows: cp the cost of moving the pth vehicle from point i to point j (p K = {1, . . . , k}, i, j ij {0} N = {0, 1, . . . , n}); as above, point 0 is the base, and others are consumers,
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S p capacity of the pth vehicle. Boolean variables are now the values xp equal to 1 if and only if transportation from point i to ij point j is done by the pth vehicle. The problem formalization has the following form:
k n

p=1 i=1 n i=1

xp = ij xp = i0

p=1 i=1 n xp = 0i i=1

xp = 1, ji 1,

j N,

(13) (14)

p K.

If i1 , . . . , ir is a sequence from N such that for some p

r1 j=1

xpj ij+1 = r 1, i
k n n

then
j=1

q ij

Sp,

(15)

p=1 i=0 j=0

cp xp min . ij ij

(16)

3.5. Split Delivery VRP with Time Windows (SDVRPTW) Let us assume that all vehicles depart from the depot at time moment 0, and for each consumption point there is a time window during which the load must be delivered (condition (11.2)). It is natural to assume here that a vehicle may arrive before the specied time and wait for the windows initial moment. In addition to notation of problem (3.4), we introduce the following notation: ip unloading time of the pth vehicle at the ith consumption point, tp transportation time for the pth vehicle from point i to point j (i, j {0} N ). In the ij general case, the load transportation cost and the transportation time are related, but we cannot assume a functional dependence. For example, paid roads may be used. In this problem, together with Boolean variables xp we have to determine the values of Bi , i.e., ij moments of beginning unloading at the ith consumption point. In addition to conditions (13)(15) (for the target function (16)), the following conditions may hold: if xp = 1 (i N ), then tp 0i 0i if xp = 1 (i, j N ), then Bi + ip + tp ij ij Ti+ , Bi = max tp , Ti ; 0i Tj+ , Bj = max Bi + ip + tp , Tj . ij (17) (18) Ti , Ti+ time window for beginning unloading the vehicle at the ith consumption point,

3.6. Delivering Uniform Load by a Single Vehicle from Several Production Points to Various Consumption Points Consider a single vehicle (7.1), initially located at the depot, to which the vehicle must return when transportation is over (14.1). We have to deliver uniform load (6.1) from production points (1.2) to consumption points (2.2). The transportation cost is determined by (13.1) only. For the formalization of this problem, it is natural to assume that production and consumption points are enumerated in this order. We introduce the following notation: nthe total number of consumption and production points, N = {1, . . . , n}; as above, the depot has number 0;
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qi the total weight of the load that must be transported out of a production point (for qi > 0) or delivered to a consumption point (for qi < 0; naturally, the weight in this case equals |qi |) (i N ); cij the cost of transporting the load from point i to point j (i, j {0} N ); Svehicle capacity. It is natural to assume that the balance condition n qi = 0 is satised. We have to nd a i=1 permutation (p(1), . . . , p(n)) of the set N such that
u

0
i=1

qp(i)
n1

S (u N ), cp(i),p(i+1) min .

(19) (20)

c0,p(1) + cp(n),0 +

i=1

The simple necessary admissibility condition (|qi | S for every i) is not sucient. For example, there do not exist admissible solutions for S = 1, n = 5, qi = 2/3 for i = 1, 2, 3 and qi = 1 for i = 4, 5. In this problem (similar to problem (3.5)), we can consider time windows for both production and consumption points. 3.7. Transporting Uniform Load by Several Vehicles from Several Production Points to Various Consumption Points Unlike problem (3.6), there are several dierent vehicles (7.3) located at dierent depots (5.2). Dierent vehicles can take load from each production point, and dierent vehicles can deliver the load to each consumption point (condition (10.4)). The transportation cost does dot depend on the load (13.1). To formalize, we have to introduce the following additional variables: dp load that the pth vehicle takes out of the ith production point (here dp > 0) or delivers to i i the ith consumption point (here dp < 0) (p K = {1, . . . , k}, i N = {1, . . . , n}); i cp the transportation cost for the pth vehicle from point i to point j (p K = {1, . . . , k}; ij i, j N = {1, . . . , n}); cp the transportation cost for the pth vehicle from its depot to the jth point; 0j S p the pth vehicles capacity. The problem looks as follows. We have to select, from the set N , sequences (r p (1), . . . , r p (up )) (p K, some sequences may be empty) in such a way that
v

0
i=1 k p=1

dpp (i) r

S p (v

up ),

(21) (22) (23)

dp = qi (i N ), i dp qi > 0, i

k p=1

cp p (1) + cp p (up ) + 0,r 0,r

k up 1 p=1 i=1

cpp (i),rp (i+1) min . r

(24)

Condition (23) means that all vehicles only take loads out of production points and only deliver to consumption points (i.e., one cannot use all these points as intermediary). Dropping this condition would require coordinating the routes in time so that one would not take the load out of a certain point before it arrives there.
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3.8. Routing Problems for Paired Production and Consumption Points with a Single Vehicle In this case, there are several types of loads (property (6.2)), their number coincides with the number of pairs of production and consumption points, and there is only one vehicle (7.1). All points are reasonable to enumerate with numbers 1, . . . , n, . . . , 2n, where n is the number of load types (pairs of production and consumption points), and the ith production point corresponds to the (n + i)th consumption points (i N = 1, . . . , n). We introduce the following notation: qi the weight of load that has to be transported from point i to point (n+i) (we set qn+i = qi ). As above, point 0 denotes the depot, and the meaning of notation cij , S is the same as in problem (3.3). We have to nd a permutation (p(1), . . . , p(2n)) of numbers 1, . . . , n, . . . , 2n such that p(i) < p(n + i),
u i=1

(25) (26) (27)

qp(i)

S (u = 1, . . . , 2n),
2n

c0,p(1) + cp(2n),0 +

i=1

cp(i),p(i+1) min .

Condition (25) means that before visiting a certain consumption point the vehicle must be loaded at the corresponding production point. The nonnegativity of the sum in inequality (26) follows from (25) and properties of values qi . Production and consumption points may coincide. For example, if load A must be delivered from point 1 to point 10, and load B must be delivered from point 10 to point 1, then these points will be enumerated under dierent numbers as production and consumption points. A special case of this problem is the taxi routing problem. In this case, qi = 1 for i n, and S denotes a cars capacity. 3.8.1. Problem of packaging return delivery. The following problem is close to the one considered above. Suppose that after delivering the load to a consumption point, the newly freed packaging must be delivered back to the production point. In this case, it is reasonable to consider 4n points: numbers from 1 to n are assigned to production points, from n + 1 to 2n to corresponding consumption points (as in problem (3.8)), from 2n+1 to 3n to consumption points from which the packaging must be taken, from 3n + 1 to 4n to production points to which the packaging must be returned. Thus, the ith and (3n+i)th , the (n+i)th and (2n+i)th points coincide, i.e., ci,3n+i = cn+i,2n+i = 0 for i = 1, . . . , n. The loads qi > 0, qn+i = qi for i = 1, . . . , n; 2n + 1, . . . , 3n. In the problem setting (25)(27), condition (25) should be replaced with p(i) < p(n + i) < p(2n + i) < p(3n + i) (i = 1, . . . , n). These inequalities reect the natural sequence of events. 3.9. School Bus Routing Problem [19] In essence, the problem has the following form. A school has a number of vehicles with which students are to be delivered to home. Both the capacity of a vehicle and the delivery time are restricted. Thus, there are several identical vehicles (property (7.2)), a route is characterized with two additive functions of the distance: the transportation time and the transportation cost (property (3.2.1)), there is a single production point (property (1.1)), a single depot (property (5.1)) that coincides with the production point (5.3), the problem has several types of load (each passenger is a separate type of load, property (6.2)), each type of load is delivered to the corresponding consumption point by a single vehicle (property (10.2), (10.3)).
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In this case, the weight of each load type equals 1, S is a vehicles capacity. In addition to the VRP notation (Section 3.3), let tij be the time it takes to travel from the ith point to the jth, and T be the maximal admissible time for delivering the students. The problem takes on the following form. Find Boolean variables xij (i, j {0} N ) and a natural number k such that conditions (8)(10) holds, and condition (11) is replaced with the following: if (i(1), . . . , i(r)) is a sequence of vertices from N , for which
r1 j=1

xi(j),i(j+1) = r 1,

r1

then r

S,
j=1

ti(j),i(j+1)

T.

(29)

The target function (12) remains the same. 3.10. Scheduling Theory Problems Some transportation logistics problems are close to scheduling theory, a wide branch of problems in discrete mathematics. Fundamental results in scheduling theory were obtained by an academician of the National academy of sciences of the Belarus V.S. Tanaev (see, e.g., [20, 21]). In problems of this class, temporal rather than economic criteria assume greater importance. In particular, this class contains a problem which is in a way inverse to the school bus routing problem. Suppose that there are k vehicles and a set of constraints C on transportational expenses. We have to get the students in such a way that all buses return to base as soon as possible. The problem can be formalized as follows. The set N has to be divided into k sequences a1,1 , . . . , a1,l(1) , . . . , ak,1 , . . . , ak,l(k) in such a way that
k j=1

c0,a

l(i)
j,1

S for i = 1, . . . , k,
l(j)1

(30) C, (31)

+ c0,aj,l(j) +

i=1

caj,i ,aj,i+1

max t0,aj,1 + t0,aj,l(j) +

j

l(j)1 i=1

taj,i ,aj,i+1 min .

(32)

This setting can be interpreted as a problem of fullling an order with minimal servicing time. 4. A MULTINOMENCLATURE TRANSPORTATIONAL LOGISTICS PROBLEM WITH CONSTRAINTS The authors have not encountered the problem considered in this section in the literature. Suppose that there is a single production point (1.1), n consumption points (2.2), and loads of k types (6.2) each of which is characterized by a single real number, the weight (4.1.1). There are m dierent vehicles (7.3), each of which has a constraint with respect to weight (8.1) and types of transported loads (9.1). A road is characterized by a single parameter, the distance (3.1), the cost of transporting a load depends only on the distance (13.1), vehicles must return to base (14.1). Constraints on the types of transported loads may arise for various reasons. Special vehicles may have to be used to transport chemical reagents or radioactive substances, certain loads (e.g., food) may require special temperature environment and so on. We introduce the following notation, partly diering in meaning from the notation used above.
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xp weight of the load of ith type transported by the pth vehicle to the jth consumption point ij (i K, j N , p M ); S p the
p yi = p n j=1 xij total

N = {1, . . . , n}, K = {1, . . . , k}, M = {1, . . . , m}; as above, the production point is zero;

weight of the load of the ith type transported by the pth vehicle;

pth vehicles capacity;

Lij weight of the load of ith type that has to be delivered at the jth consumption point (i K, j N ); wi = Ap
n j=1 Lij total

demand for the load of the ith type;

Kthe set of load types prohibited for transportation on vehicle p; transportation cost of the pth vehicle;
p k i=1 xij

B p unit

c(U ) (U N )minimal length of a cycle containing points from U and the zero point; Fp = j N : > 0 set of points into which the load is delivered by the pth vehicle. The problem looks as follows. Find numbers xp such that ij xp ij 0, xp = 0 for i Ap , j N, ij
m p=1 k

(33) (34)

xp = Lij , ij xp ij S p,

(35)

i=1 j=1 m p=1

c(F p )B p min .

(36)

Condition (33) reects constraints on transporting the loads by the vehicles, condition (34) is necessary to satisfy all demand at all destination points, condition (35) shows vehicle capacity constraints. The target function (36), as above, is the total transportation cost. We further outline a two-stage heuristic algorithm for solving the problem (33)(36). We sort vehicles and consumption points in advance: vehicles are sorted in descending order with respect to their unit transportation costs B p /S p . Consumption points are sorted inductively: the rst consumption point is the point nearest to the depot, and the next point is the consumption point nearest to the union of already numbered points (including the depot). This sorting can be implemented with Prims algorithm for constructing the minimal spanning tree [22] of an undirected connected graph. Consider the following system of equalities and inequalities:
m p=1 k i=1 p yi = wi , p yi

(37)

Sp.

(38)

Condition (33) implies that

p yi p 0, yi = 0 for i Ap .

(39)
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DETERMINISTIC OPTIMIZATIONAL PROBLEMS

y1
1

2143

y1

y1

L 11

L 12

L 13

L 14

L 15

x 11

x 12

x 12

x 13

x 14

x 14

x 15

Figure.

An obvious necessary condition of the feasibility of system (37)(39),

k m

wi
i=1

S p,

p=1

which is also sucient if one drops condition (39), is not sucient in general. For example, consider two vehicles with capacities equal to 20 and 5 units, respectively, that have to transport load of two types: 15 units of the rst type and 10 units of the second. The rst vehicle is forbidden to transport load of the second type. It is easy to see that it is impossible to make this delivery. As the following constructions show, the feasibility of system (37)(39) is equivalent to the admissibility of the original problem (33)(36). In case of feasibility, let us nd a solution of problem (37)(39). To do so, we can add to the system a linear target function of the form
k m p p yi max, i

(40)

i=1 p=1

where p are numbers sequentially generated by a pseudorandom generator in the interval [1, 1], i and solve the resulting linear programming problem with standard techniques. p On the second stage, values yi determine the values of xp . We make the construction illustrated ij on the picture for the rst type of load, for every load type. Subscripts of variables x are inherited from L, and superscripts are inherited from y. After this construction, we nd for each vehicle the set of consumption points it has to visit. Solving the traveling salesperson problem for each set of points (in many cases, each contour will consist of few consumption points), we compute the target functions value (36). After the second stage is over, we return to the rst stage: by regenerating the p values we i p can compute new values of yi and then repeat the second stage. The construction is repeated until stopping conditions are reached.

5. CONCLUSION The features of transportation logistics problems that we have selected allow to construct a wide range of both known and new transportation logistics problems, important for specic applications. One new problem is considered in Section 4, and a heuristic approach to solving it is also presented.
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BRONSHTEIN, ZAIKO

REFERENCES
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This paper was recommended for publication by A.A. Lazarev, a member of the Editorial Board

AUTOMATION AND REMOTE CONTROL

Vol. 71

No. 10

2010