Cold chain distribution: How to deal with node and arc time windows?

Yi Zhang, Guowei Hua (), T. C. E. Cheng and Juliang Zhang
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Yi Zhang: Beijing Wuzi University
Guowei Hua: Beijing Jiaotong University
T. C. E. Cheng: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Juliang Zhang: Beijing Jiaotong University

Annals of Operations Research, 2020, vol. 291, issue 1, No 44, 1127-1151

Abstract: Abstract Commonly encountered in cold chain logistics, third-party distribution firms are required to deliver temperature-sensitive food products to various retailers with two kinds of time-window constraints: (1) the delivery service must begin within the time windows imposed by the retailers (called node time windows) and (2) each vehicle route is available only in a predefined time interval prescribed by the government (called arc time windows). We study the effects of the retailer time window type (i.e., density of the node time-window constraints) and other cost-related factors on a distribution firm’s legitimacy choice (i.e., the firm chooses to either comply with or violate the governmental time-window policy), food quality, and pollutant emissions in the urban environment. We model the problem as an intractable vehicle routing problem with node and arc time windows and develop a genetic algorithm to tackle it. We conduct a case study to generate the managerial insights on dealing with time windows. We find that the governmental time windows will increase the distribution cost. The governmental time windows has a negative effect on pollutant emissions while showing a positive effect on food safety. Given governmental time windows, a higher demand for node time windows will result in more governmental time-window violations or lower vehicle load factor, which depends on the vehicle fixed cost, fuel price, and government penalty.

Keywords: Cold chain distribution; Urban freight transport; Node time windows; Arc time windows; Vehicle routing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10479-018-3071-0

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