Hybrid PSO-TS-CHR Algorithm Applied to the Vehicle Routing Problem for Multiple Perishable Products Delivery

In this paper, we dealt with the routing of refrigerated and non-refrigerated vehicles for the delivery of multiple perishable products, with known demands, the capacity of vehicles in the heterogeneous fleet, and a number of available vehicles of both types. We propose a mathematical model that seeks to minimize the loss of freshness by perishable products, considering the time they remain in the vehicles and the vehicles’ storage door openings on the route, from the moment they leave the depot until they arrive at the final customer. The most important contribution of this work is the implementation of the hybrid PSO-TS-CHR algorithm to solve this problem, which is compared with a Genetic Algorithm (GA). The results showed that the metaheuristic that gives the greatest quality solutions for the stated problem of both is the hybrid algorithm.