Individually Optimized Commercial Road Transport: A Decision Support System for Customizable Routing Problems

Max Leyerer, Marc-Oliver Sonneberg, Maximilian Heumann, Tim Kammann and Michael Breitner ()
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Max Leyerer: School of Economics and Management, Leibniz University Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Marc-Oliver Sonneberg: School of Economics and Management, Leibniz University Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Maximilian Heumann: School of Economics and Management, Leibniz University Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Tim Kammann: School of Economics and Management, Leibniz University Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 20, 1-21

Abstract: The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) in its manifold variants is widely discussed in scientific literature. We investigate related optimization models and solution methods to determine the state of research for vehicle routing attributes and their combinations. Most of these approaches are idealized and focus on single problem-tailored routing applications. Addressing this research gap, we present a customizable VRP for optimized road transportation embedded into a Decision Support System (DSS). It integrates various model attributes and handles a multitude of real-world routing problems. In the context of urban logistics, practitioners of different industries and researchers are assisted in efficient route planning that allows for minimizing driving distances and reducing vehicle emissions. Based on the design science research methodology, we evaluate the DSS with computational benchmarks and real-world simulations. Results indicate that our developed DSS can compete with problem-tailored algorithms. With our solution-oriented DSS as final artifact, we contribute to an enhanced economic and environmental sustainability in urban logistic applications.

Keywords: vehicle routing problem; decision support system; design science research; green information system; urban logistics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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