The optimization of routing in fourth-party logistics with soft time windows using harmony search

Min Huang, Guihua Bo, Xingwei Wang, W. H. Ip

Abstract: To maximize the degree of customers' satisfaction, benefit third-party-logistics providers and minimize transport costs simultaneously, fourth-party logistics needs to design an optimal route from a supply node to a demand node. In this paper, the mathematical model of the point-to-point single task path optimization in fourth-party logistic with soft time window (4PLRPSTW) is set up. To solve the model, a meta-heuristic optimization method called a harmony search (HS) is suggested. The experimental result is compared with the enumeration algorithm, and it shows that this algorithm can find the satisfactory solution and is a powerful optimization method for solving 4PLRPSTW.