Fuzzy linear programming approach for the capacitated vehicle routing problem

Abstract

In recent years, with both technological advances and the effect of globalization, businesses have entered a very intense competition. In this harsh competitive environment, customer satisfaction has become a critical concept. Firms implement costs reducing strategies in order to increase profitability levels and gain competitive advantage in the market. Researches show that a significant ratio of the cost of a product is derived from the transport activities. Therefore, it has become important for companies to find the optimal route during transportation. In this study, it is addressed as capacity constrained vehicle routing. First, a deterministic model is proposed for the addressed problem. Second, in accordance with real life conditions, a fuzzy linear programming model has been developed in case of the vehicle capacities are uncertain. The Verdegay approach has been adopted for the fuzzy linear programming model. The proposed model was implemented to a real life problem in the food sector. The results are compared with the results of a deterministic model and they show that the fuzzy linear programming model proposed in this study gives cost effective results in uncertain environment.