Research on Distribution Optimization of Emergency Perishable Materials Considering Periodic Changes in Freshness

Zichun Zhang, Yang Xu (), Xiaodong Li, Kin-Keung Lai and Yan Li
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Zichun Zhang: College of Economics and Management, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, China
Yang Xu: College of Economics and Management, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, China
Xiaodong Li: College of Economics and Management, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, China
Kin-Keung Lai: International Business School, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Yan Li: School of Business Administration, Xi’an Eurasia University, Xi’an 710065, China

Mathematics, 2023, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: The distribution of emergency perishable materials is crucial for rescue operations in disaster-stricken areas. However, the freshness of these materials changes over time, affecting the quantity of materials that can be distributed to demand points at different stages. To address this issue, this paper proposes a novel approach. Firstly, a piecewise function is constructed to describe the impact of freshness on the quality and quantity of emergency perishable materials at different time stages. Secondly, the paper establishes a vehicle distribution optimization model with the goal of maximizing the sum of the freshness of all emergency perishable materials delivered to different disaster-affected locations, taking into account the different minimum freshness constraints for the same kind of materials in different locations. Thirdly, an approximate algorithm is designed to solve the model, with the time complexity and the upper and lower bounds of the approximate ratio analyzed. Finally, an example analysis is conducted to demonstrate the validity of the proposed model and algorithm.

Keywords: emergency perishable materials; freshness; vehicle distribution optimization; approximate algorithm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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