Stochastic Inventory Routing for Perishable Products

Yves Crama (), Mahmood Rezaei (), Martin Savelsbergh () and Tom Van Woensel ()
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Yves Crama: HEC Management School, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Mahmood Rezaei: HEC Management School, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Martin Savelsbergh: School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332
Tom Van Woensel: School of Industrial Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, Netherlands

Transportation Science, 2018, vol. 52, issue 3, 526-546

Abstract: Different solution methods are developed to solve an inventory routing problem for a perishable product with stochastic demands. The solution methods are empirically compared in terms of average profit, service level, and actual freshness. The benefits of explicitly considering demand uncertainty are quantified. The computational study highlights that in certain situations although a simple ordering policy can achieve very good performance, statistically and economically significant improvements are achieved when using more advanced solution methods. Managerial insights concerning the impact of shelf life and store capacity on profit are also obtained.

Keywords: inventory routing problem; perishable inventory system; perishable inventory routing; stochastic inventory routing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ortrsc:v:52:y:2018:i:3:p:526-546

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