The Impact of a Decision-Support System for Vehicle Routeing in a Foodservice Supply Situation

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Abstract
Efficient vehicle routeing is critical to the competitive position of firms in many industries. The foodservice industry encounters complex and constantly changing routeing problems in which time is a critical factor. With the cooperation and support of management and staff of Kraft Inc., we implemented an heuristic-based decision-support system, which utilizes computer-graphic pictures of routes in a large foodservice distribution region of Kraft Inc. The system provides the route scheduler with a tool to enable the rapid evaluation of computer-proposed solutions and to easily modify them. In tests conducted by Kraft personnel, system users found potential variable cost savings of 10.7% on 10 actual delivery problems of up to 223 stops. A potential for reductions in fixed costs was also indicated. The system allows the scheduler great flexibility in dealing with unpredictable factors and also aids management in strategic planning for distribution. It is currently in day-to-day use at Kraft.

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