Optimization of transport with multiple vehicles
First Claim
1. A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, for optimizing a total cost associated with transporting products on a set of vehicles, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:
- assign one or more orders to one or more vehicles in a set of vehicles, each order representing one or more products;
create an assignment for one or more vehicles in the set of vehicles, the assignment defining a sequence of pickup and delivery activities for orders that are assigned to each of the one or more vehicles;
delete one or more orders from one or more vehicles in the set of vehicles;
insert at least one order from the one or more deleted orders into at least one vehicle in the set of vehicles;
change the assignment for at least one vehicle in the set of vehicles;
determine a cost for the transportation of the products on the set of vehicles; and
repeat the instructions to delete one or more orders, insert at least one order, change the assignment, and determine a cost, until an optimal cost has been determined.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for optimizing a total cost associated with transporting products on a set of vehicles. Orders representing products are assigned to one or more vehicles in the set. The assignment defines a sequence of pickup and delivery activities for the vehicles. One or more orders are deleted from one or more vehicles; at least one order from the deleted orders is inserted into a vehicle; the assignment is changed for at least one vehicle; and a cost is determined for the transportation of the products on the set of vehicles. The steps of deleting one or more orders, inserting at least one order, changing the assignment, and determining a cost, are repeated until an optimal cost has been determined.
102 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, for optimizing a total cost associated with transporting products on a set of vehicles, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:
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assign one or more orders to one or more vehicles in a set of vehicles, each order representing one or more products;
create an assignment for one or more vehicles in the set of vehicles, the assignment defining a sequence of pickup and delivery activities for orders that are assigned to each of the one or more vehicles;
delete one or more orders from one or more vehicles in the set of vehicles;
insert at least one order from the one or more deleted orders into at least one vehicle in the set of vehicles;
change the assignment for at least one vehicle in the set of vehicles;
determine a cost for the transportation of the products on the set of vehicles; and
repeat the instructions to delete one or more orders, insert at least one order, change the assignment, and determine a cost, until an optimal cost has been determined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for optimizing a total cost associated with transporting products on a set of vehicles, the method comprising:
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assigning one or more orders to one or more vehicles in a set of vehicles, each order representing one or more products;
creating an assignment for one or more vehicles in the set of vehicles, the assignment defining a sequence of pickup and delivery activities for orders that are assigned to each of the one or more vehicles;
deleting one or more orders from one or more vehicles in the set of vehicles;
inserting at least one order from the one or more deleted orders into at least one vehicle in the set of vehicles;
changing the assignment for at least one vehicle in the set of vehicles;
determining a cost for the transportation of the products on the set of vehicles; and
repeating the steps of deleting one or more orders, inserting at least one order, changing the assignment, and determining a cost, until an optimal cost has been determined. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification