Optimising parcel deliveries in London using dual-mode routing

Nguyen, Thu Ba T. and Bektaş, Tolga and Cherrett, Tom J. and McLeod, Fraser N. and Allen, Julian and Bates, Oliver and Piotrowska, Marzena and Piecyk, Maja and Friday, Adrian and Wise, Sarah (2019) Optimising parcel deliveries in London using dual-mode routing. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 70 (6). pp. 998-1010. ISSN 0160-5682

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Abstract

Last-mile delivery operations are complex, and the conventional way of using a single mode of delivery (e.g. driving) is not necessarily an efficient strategy. This paper describes a two-level parcel distribution model that combines walking and driving for a single driver. The model aims to minimise the total travelling time by scheduling a vehicle’s routing and the driver’s walking sequence when making deliveries, taking decisions on parking locations into consideration. The model is a variant of the Clustered Travelling Salesman Problem with Time Windows, in which the sequence of visits within each cluster is required to form a closed tour. When applied to a case study of an actual vehicle round from a parcel carrier operating in London, savings of over 20% in the total operation time were returned over the current situation where 144 parcels were being delivered to 57 delivery locations.