基于互联网的连锁企业的物流管理系统

An internet-based logistics management system for enterprise chains

N. Prindezis, C.T. Kiranoudis

School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University, 15780 Athens,

Greece

Received 13 September 2003; received in revised form 20 December 2003; accepted

27 January 2004

Available online 10 December 2004

Abstract

This paper presents an Internet-Based Logistics Management System to coordinate and disseminate tasks and related information for solving the heterogeneous vehicle routing problem using appropriate metaheuristic techniques, for use in enterprise chain net works. Its architecture involves a JA V A Web applet equipped with interactive communication capabilities between peripheral software tools. The system was developed in distributed software fashion technology for all computer platforms utilizing a Webbrowser, focusing on the detailed road network of Athens and the needs of the Athens Central Food Market enterprises. 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Decision support system; e-Logistics; Transportation; Vehicle routing problem

1.Introduction

Enterprise chains are the business model of the present and future regarding markets that involve small and medium company sizes. Clearly, grouping activities towards a focused target facilitates an understandably improved market penetration guaranteed by a successful trade mark of a leading company in the field. Several collaboration models that basically include franchising are introduced as a part of this integrated process. When such a network is introduced in order to exploit a commercial idea or business initiative and subsequently expanded as market penetration grows, several management issues arise regarding the operations of the entire network. Such a network is the ideal place for organizing and evaluating in a more centralized way several ordinary operations regarding supply chain and logistics Infact, tools developed for organizing management processes and operational needs of each individual company, can be developed in a more centralized fashion and the services provided by the tool can be offered to each network member to facilitate transactions and tackle operations similarly. Web-based applications are an ideal starting place for developing such applications. Typically such systems serve as a central depot for

distributing common services in the field of logistics. The commercial application is stored in a central server and services are provided for each member of the group. A prototype of such a server is described in a previous work (Prindezis, Kiranoudis, & Marinos-Kouris,2003). This paper presents the completed inter net system that is installed in the central web server of the Athens Central Food Market that deals with the integrated problem of distribution for 690 companies that comprise a unique logistics and retail chain of enterprises. The needs of each company are underlined and the algorithms developed are described within the unified internet environment. The problem solved and services provided for each company is the one involving distribution of goods through a heterogeneous fleet of trucks. New insights of the metaheuristics employed are provided. A characteristic case study is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for a real-world problem of distribution through the detailed road network of Athens.

2. Distribution through heterogeneous vehicle fleets

The fleet management problem presented in this paper requires the use of a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles that distribute goods through a network of clients (Tarantilis, Kiranoudis, & Vassiliadis, 2003, 2004).Therefore, the system was designed in order to automatically generate vehicle routes (which vehicles should de- liver to which customers and in which order), using rational, quantitative, spatial and non-spatial information and minimizing simultaneously the vehicle cost and the total distance travelled by the vehicles, subject to the following constraints:

●each vehicle has a predetermined load capacity, typically different from all other

vehicles comprising the fleet (heterogeneous nature),

●the capacity of a vehicle cannot be exceeded,

● a single vehicle supplies each customers demand,

●the number of vehicles used is predetermined.

The problem has an obvious commercial value and has drawn the attention of OR community. Its great success can be attributed to the fact that it is a very interesting problem both from the practical and theoretical points of view. Regarding the practical point of view, the distribution problem involved definitely plays a central role in the efficiency of the operational planning level of distribution management, producing economical routes that contribute to the reduction of distribution costs, offering simultaneously significant savings in all related expenses (capital, fuel costs, driver salaries). Its Importance in the practical level, motivated in tense theoretical work and the development of efficient algorithms.

For the problem by academic researchers and professional societies in OR/MS, resulting in a number of papers concerning the development of a number of Vehicle Routing Information Systems (VRIS) for solving the problem. The problem discussed is an NP-hard optimization problem, that is to say the global optimum of the problem can only be revealed through an algorithm of exponential time or space complexity