Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problem with Fuzzy Customer Response

Gitae Kim ()
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Gitae Kim: Department of Industrial Management Engineering, Hanbat National University, Daejeon 34158, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: This paper proposes a dynamic vehicle routing problem (DVRP) model with fuzzy customer responses and suggests optimal routing strategies. Most DVRP studies have focused on how to create a new route upon the occurrence of dynamic situations such as unexpected demands. However, the customer responses have received little attention. When a pop-up demand is added to one of the planned routes, the service for some optimally planned demands may be delayed. Customers may file complaints or cancel their orders as a result of the delays. As a result, the customer response has a significant impact on current profits as well as future demands. In this research, we consider the customer response in DVRP and address it with a fuzzy number. Changing distances or defining time windows can resolve the problem of customer response. The customer responses are represented by a fuzzy rule. The new routing strategy provides the viability to reduce customer complaints and avoid losing potential customers.

Keywords: dynamic vehicle routing problem; fuzzy number; customer response; fuzzy rules; optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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