A real-time vehicle-dispatching system for consolidating milk runs

This study investigates the parameter settings of a real-time vehicle-dispatching system for consolidating milk runs. Seven modules are used to implement the real-time system and the parameters are determined by a comprehensive experimental design. The real-time vehicle-dispatching system will be demonstrated in different milk run scenarios. The results of the experiments suggest that the system should have an initial vehicle dispatching module and an inter-route improvement module. It is also recommended that the Best Fit algorithm for initial vehicle dispatch and the 2-Exchange algorithm for inter-route improvement are most suitable for the real-time system. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.