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<p>Nowadays, supply chain and road networks are full of complexity. Companies can differentiate themselves by offering superior customer service. Therefore, pharmaceutical distributors need to optimize route distribution for efficient and effective delivery to pharmacies, enhancing their competitiveness. In the field of operations research (OR), efficient route optimization is a significant function of the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) where the goal is to find the optimal distance travelled. The VRP can be solved using a range of algorithms, comprising exact methods, heuristics and meta-heuristics. This paper gives the basic concepts of some algorithms and these algorithms are compared based on the results. This study also extends its focus to the variation known as the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (VRPTW), that closely mirrors real-world scenarios, allowing for a more practical assessment of pharmaceutical distribution challenges and optimization solutions.</p>
</abstract>

Nowadays, supply chain and road networks are full of complexity. Companies can differentiate themselves by offering superior customer service. Therefore, pharmaceutical distributors need to optimize route distribution for efficient and effective delivery to pharmacies, enhancing their competitiveness. In the field of operations research (OR), efficient route optimization is a significant function of the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) where the goal is to find the optimal distance travelled. The VRP can be solved using a range of algorithms, comprising exact methods, heuristics and meta-heuristics. This paper gives the basic concepts of some algorithms and these algorithms are compared based on the results. This study also extends its focus to the variation known as the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (VRPTW), that closely mirrors real-world scenarios, allowing for a more practical assessment of pharmaceutical distribution challenges and optimization solutions.

Vehicle Routing Optimization Algorithms for Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: A Systematic Comparison

Laboratory of Engineering Sciences for Energy

Transport and Telecommunication Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Nowadays, supply chain and road networks are full of complexity. Companies can differentiate themselves by offering superior customer service. Therefore,...

Vehicle Routing Optimization Algorithms for Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: A Systematic Comparison

Publicado en línea: 23 abr 2024

Páginas: 161 - 173

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ttj-2024-0012

Palabras clave
Vehicle routing problem, optimization algorithms, distribution logistics, pharmaceutical supply chain, operations research

© 2024 Khadija Ait Mamoun et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Vehicle Routing Optimization Algorithms for Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: A Systematic Comparison

Publicado en línea: 23 abr 2024

Páginas: 161 - 173

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ttj-2024-0012

Palabras claveVehicle routing problem, optimization algorithms, distribution logistics, pharmaceutical supply chain, operations research

© 2024 Khadija Ait Mamoun et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Palabras clave
Vehicle routing problem, optimization algorithms, distribution logistics, pharmaceutical supply chain, operations research