Hybrid Particle Swarm Algorithm for Grain Logistics Vehicle Routing Problem

In this study, we consider the application of a hybrid particle swarm algorithm to the grain logistics vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW). VRPTW is a variant of the well-known well-studied vehicle routing problem (VRP), which the objective is to use the limited vehicles so that the maximum number of jobs can be completed with minimum cost. Aiming at the characteristics of the large batch and multi-point to multi-point transportation of grain logistics, a hybrid particle swarm optimization (PSO) with simulated annealing (SA) algorithm is proposed to solve grain logistics VRPTM in this paper. In contrast to other existing algorithms, the experimental results manifest that the hybrid algorithm of PSO can solve grain logistics VRPTM quickly, the proposed algorithm is effective, and can reduce the cost of distribution.