A modified adaptive genetic algorithm for multi-product multi-period inventory routing problem

Recent developments in urbanization and e-commerce have pushed businesses to deploy efficient systems to decrease their supply chain cost. Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is one of the most widely used strategies to effectively manage supply chains with multiple parties. VMI implementation asks for solving the Inventory Routing Problem (IRP). This study considers a multi-product multi-period inventory routing problem, including a supplier, set of customers, and a fleet of heterogeneous vehicles. Due to the complex nature of the IRP, we developed a Modified Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (MAGA) to solve a variety of instances efficiently. As a benchmark, we considered the results obtained by Cplex software and an efficient heuristic from the literature. Through extensive computational experiments on a set of randomly generated instances, and using different metrics, we show that our approach distinctly outperforms the other two methods. In this way, we created a decision support and computer-based approach to assist policy and decision-makers in the pathway of constructing a sustainable society. © 2021 The Author(s)