An Improved Approximate Dynamic Programming Method for the Integrated Fleet Sizing and Replenishment Planning Problem With Predetermined Delivery Frequencies

Abstract

In this paper we propose an Improved Approximate Dynamic Programming approach for the integrated fleet sizing and replenishment planning problem utilizing fix and optimize heuristic. The problem is about deciding both the composition of a fleet for distributing a single item and the replenishment planning based on a predetermined delivery frequency. This problem integrates two important logistical issues namely fleet sizing and replenishment planning. The objective is minimizing all relevant costs composed of vehicle ownership, inventory, and approximate routing costs. We show the effectiveness of the proposed solution method on a set of fairly large size randomly generated problem instances. Copyright © 2022 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)