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Exact and hybrid methods for the multiperiod field service routing problem

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Abstract

This article deals with a particular class of routing problem, consisting of the planning and routing of technicians in the field. This problem has been identified as a multiperiod, multidepot uncapacitated vehicle routing problem with specific constraints that we call the multiperiod field service routing problem (MPFSRP). We propose a set covering formulation of the problem for the column generation technique and we develop an exact branch and price solution method for small-sized instances. We also propose several heuristic versions for larger instances. We present the results of experiments on realistic data adapted from an industrial application.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Fabien Tricoire

  2. IRCCyN, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France

    Nathalie Bostel

  3. IRCCyN, École des Mines de Nantes, Nantes, France

    Pierre Dejax

  4. Veolia Water, Nantes, France

    Pierre Guez

  5. NICTA/UNSW, Sydney, Australia

    Fabien Tricoire

Authors
  1. Fabien Tricoire
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  2. Nathalie Bostel
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  3. Pierre Dejax
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  4. Pierre Guez
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Correspondence to Fabien Tricoire.

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Tricoire, F., Bostel, N., Dejax, P. et al. Exact and hybrid methods for the multiperiod field service routing problem. Cent Eur J Oper Res 21, 359–377 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10100-011-0231-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10100-011-0231-6

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