Premium
Combinatorial optimization and vehicle fleet planning: Perspectives and prospects
Author(s) -
Magnanti T. L.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
networks
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.977
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1097-0037
pISSN - 0028-3045
DOI - 10.1002/net.3230110209
Subject(s) - vehicle routing problem , heuristics , scheduling (production processes) , computer science , combinatorial optimization , fleet management , operations research , mathematical optimization , class (philosophy) , optimization problem , routing (electronic design automation) , artificial intelligence , engineering , mathematics , algorithm , computer network , telecommunications , operating system
As a well‐structured and costly activity that pervades industries in both the public and private sector, vehicle fleet management would appear to be a splendid candidate for model‐based planning and optimization. And yet, until recently the combinatorial intricacies of vehicle routing and of vehicle scheduling have precluded the widespread use of optimization (exact) methods for this problem class. Our discussion in this paper identifies the extent and nature of these problem complexities and draws contrasts with other applications of combinatorial optimization. It also summarizes a number of successful uses of optimization for vehicle fleet planning and highlights potentially fruitful avenues for algorithmic development. In particular, we describe several alternative models and novel algorithms for the vehicle routing problem, show how various modeling approaches for this problem are intimately related, and illustrate the interplay between model formulations and the algorithms that they suggest. This discussion shows that prospects for applying exact methods, possibly in conjunction with heuristics, are far from fully realized and points to vehicle fleet planning as a tempting target of opportunity for further investigation.