The Lockset Method of Sequential Programming Applied to Routing Delivery and Pickup Trucks

Leonard W. Schruben and Ruth E. Clifton

American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 1968, vol. 50, issue 4, 854-867

Abstract: The lockset method of sequential programming was used in this study to route feed delivery trucks and indicated potential distance savings of as much as 20 percent in comparison to the actual routes used by the business concerns. It was also found that in some cases the number of trucks required to make the deliveries could have been reduced from the number actually used, without changing the day of delivery. Feed manufacturing firms from New England to California supplied information on actual deliveries. An ex post routing of the same trucks to deliver the same quantities to the same receivers was made and the distance and number of trucks needed were compared with the distance and number of trucks actually used. Typical distance reductions were from 8 percent to 12 percent. In no case did the actual routing show fewer miles than the routes discovered by use of the lockset method. The system is computerized to enable a dispatcher to design delivery routes and issue loading instructions for each truck as soon as orders for a given day are known.

Date: 1968
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