Abstract:
Adopting a Continuous Space Modelling-type scenario of
no detailed data being available at a customer-specific
level, and on the basis, therefore, of basic information on
delivery-area size, total number of locations to be visited
and average road-speeds etc., quantitative expressions are
derived for,
the relationship between the number of vehicles
operating from a central depot and the total
fleet mileage that is required to visit a set
of locations, and,
2. the effect of time-window constraints on the
total cost of a similar operation.
These expressions are derived using a simulation-based
methodology, involving the setting-up of a computer program
which both generates Travelling-Salesman tours and provides
information on these tours at a detailed, disaggregated
level. In the time-constrained context, it was necessary to
develop a heuristic route-building procedure for solving
Travelling-Salesman Problems due to the algorithmic
