Optimization of Electric Vehicle Routes Considering Multi-Temperature Co-Distribution in Cold Chain Logistics with Soft Time Windows

Abstract

Inspired by the practice of urban distribution of fresh products, we introduce a new electric vehicle routing problem with soft time windows. In this problem, goods with different temperature layers can be distributed in ordinary electric vehicles simultaneously based on the cold storage insulation box. The primary objective is to devise optimized distribution routes for logistics companies to minimize distribution costs, including transportation, refrigeration, and charging costs. To address this, we present a mathematical model for the problem and propose an improved ant colony optimization algorithm combined with a 2-opt algorithm. Based on Solomon dataset, we conduct numerical experiments to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm. The numerical results demonstrate that multi-temperature co-distribution can lead to a reduction in distribution cost and an improvement in distribution efficiency.