Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows considering Outsourcing Vehicles

The vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW) is an important problem in third party logistics and supply chain management. We extend the VRPTW to the VRPTW with overtime and outsourcing vehicles (VRPTWOV) which allows the overtime of drivers and the possibility of using outsourcing vehicles. This problem can be applied to third party logistics companies for managing central distributor-local distributors, local distributor-retailers (or customers), and a manufacturer. We develop a mixed integer programming model and a genetic algorithm. Computational results demonstrate the efficiency of the developed genetic algorithm. We also develop a decision support system based on this genetic algorithm.