A Study of Milk-Run Vehicle Routing Problem and Receiving Schedule Adjustment A Case Study of Just-In-Time Automobile Factory ABC

Abstract

The main objectives of this study is to improve the milk run vehicle routing of the Just-In-Time automobile factory  . The milk run vehicles normally travel to pick up automobile parts from suppliers in Chonburi and Rayong to factory located in Leam Chabang Industrial estate, Chonburi. Two vehicle routing problem (VRP) methods are studied including Saving Algorithm and Metaheuristics in VRP Spreadsheet Solver. The results obtained from these two methods are compared and selected for the best alternatives. The results show that the saving algorithm can reduce the transportation cost from 21,859,083 Baht/Year to 12,769,159 Baht/Year, or can save 9,089,924 Baht/Year (41.58%), while the Metaheuristics can reduce the transportation cost to 12,769,159 Baht/Year, or can save 11,962,011 Baht/Year (45.28 %). Further, the schedule of truck arrival are also improved using the recent constraints of operational time of the factory and the folk lift resource available during the slot. The purposed method could alleviate the congestion of truck arrivals during peak period in the factory effectively.