Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Constructing routes for distribution purposes is a key activity in the logistic processes of many companies. The overall objective of this project is to develop new decision support tools (models, algorithms, and software) to build routes in the complex environment faced by companies in their regular operations. The vehicle routing problems that will be tackled will account for a much broader range of operational characteristics and objectives than the classical variants usually considered in the literature: complex costing formulas for routes, multiple depots, multiple fleets of restricted sizes, loading restrictions, multiple/periodic customer service, variable vehicle speed according to load or activity, etc. Special emphasis will be put on addressing the impact of uncertainty in problem data and on the need for providing "robust" solutions. The project will focus on the development and evaluation of heuristic algorithms capable of handling the large instances encountered in real applications. These heuristics will be based on multi-thread cooperative search strategies, which have proved very successful in similar contexts. Two industrial partners, Alimentation Couche-Tard and La Federation des producteurs de lait du Quebec, will provide detailed contextual information and data on the planning and operating environment in which routes are to be determined and will use the results of research. The participation of Omega Optimisation, a company specialized in the development of operations research software for industrial applications, will ensure that the tools developed are industrial strength and thus facilitate technological transfer. The project will yield new vehicle routing models and new solution algorithms. It should also lead to new insights on the performance of multi-thread cooperative methods. The software that will be produced should allow industrial partners to derive more effective distribution routes and thus to significantly cut on their logistical costs. In the long run, other benefits for Canada should include reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and an improved competitivity for Canadian businesses. La construction de tournees pour la distribution est une activite-cle dans les processus logistiques de plusieurs entreprises. L'objectif general de ce projet est le developpement de nouveaux outils d'aide a la decision (modeles, algorithmes et logiciels) pour la confection de tournees dans I'environnement complexe auquel les entreprises font face dans leurs operations. Les problemes qui seront abordes prendront en compte beaucoup plus de facteurs operationnels et d'objectifs que les variantes classiques traitees dans le passe : formules de couts complexes, depots multiples, presence de plusieurs flottes de taille restreinte, contraintes de chargement, service multiple ou pe"riodique, vitesse variant avec la charge ou 1'activite, etc. On portera une attention particuliere a la prise en compte de I'incertitude dans les donnees et au besoin d'obtenir des solutions robustes. Le projet portera principalement sur le developpement et revaluation d'heuristiques capables de traiter les instances de grande taille rencontrees en pratique. Ces heuristiques seront basees sur les strategies de recherche cooperative multiple qui se sont montrees tres efficaces dans des contextes semblables. Deux partenaires industriels, Alimentation Couche-Tard et La Federation des producteurs de lait du Quebec, fourniront des informations detaillees ainsi que des donnees relativement a leur environnement de planiflcation et d'ope"ration et utriliseront les resultats du projet. La participation d'Omega Optimisation, entreprise specialisee dans le developpement de logiciels de recherche operationnelle pour des applications industrielles, garantira la qualite des outils developpes et facilitera ainsi les transferts technologiques. Le projet produira de nouveaux modeles et algorithmes pour la confection de tournees. II permettra aussi de mieux comprendre le comportemen