Optimizing the Distribution of Dairy Products by Heuristic Algorithms and Geographic Information System: A Case Study of FARS PEGAH DAIRY COMPANY

The problem of the distribution of dairy products, which is classified as a combinatorial optimization problem, cannot be solved in polynomial time. In this paper, an algorithm based on Ant Colony Hybrid meta-heuristic system and Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to find a near-optimal solution to this problem. Using the former method, the nearest neighbor heuristic algorithm was used to find an initial solution, and then, Campbell insertion algorithm having O($ n^{3} $) complexity was applied in order to find a feasible solution. Furthermore, cross exchange local search algorithm was utilized to reduce the time of finding a near-optimal solution. Using the latter method, with regard to geographic features of the problem, the distribution network was optimized by GIS.   Besides, we attempted to optimize the distribution network of dairy products using multi-objective mathematical model.