Optimizing Truck-Drone Routing in Last-Mile Delivery Based on a Two-Index Stage-Based Formulation
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Abstract
This paper investigates the Flying Sidekick Traveling Salesman Problem (FSTSP), a breakthrough solution for last-mile logistics. We propose a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model based on a 2-index stage-based formulation. Unlike traditional arc-based models, this approach assigns customers to ordered stages, significantly reducing the number of binary variables and automatically eliminating subtour constraints. Numerical experiments on the Niels Agatz (2018) benchmark datasets with up to 45 customers demonstrate that the model achieves superior performance in terms of convergence time and solution quality. Finally, the study suggests a future research direction by integrating this model into the Construct-Merge-Solve & Adapt (CMSA) hybrid metaheuristic framework to address larger-scale problems.
Keywords
FSTSP, Drone delivery, Stage-based formulation, Logistics optimization, CMSA.
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References
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