{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:56:39Z","timestamp":1760147799709,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,4]],"date-time":"2023-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1677888000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia, Lisboa, Portugal","award":["UIDB\/00667\/2020","UIDB\/00319\/2020]"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/00667\/2020","UIDB\/00319\/2020]"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Applied Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The number of variants of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) has grown rapidly in the last decades. Among these, VRPs with time window constraints are among the most studied ones. However, the literature regarding VRPs that concerns the delivery and installation of products is scarce. The main aim of this study was to propose a heuristic approach for the route planning process of a company whose focus is on furniture delivery and assembly and, thus, contributing to the research around the Delivery and Installation Routing Problem. The case study method was used, and two scenarios were compared: the current scenario (showing the routes created by the company worker); and the future scenario (representing the routes created by the heuristic). Results show that the proposed heuristic approach provided a feasible solution to the problem, allowing it to affect customers and teams without compromising the teams\u2019 competencies and respecting all constraints.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/app13053285","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,6]],"date-time":"2023-03-06T02:28:34Z","timestamp":1678069714000},"page":"3285","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A Heuristic Approach to Support Route Planning for Delivery and Installation of Furniture: A Case Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"In\u00eas A.","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"UNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Catarina","family":"Bento","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Lu\u00eds","family":"Mascarenhas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"TNB\u2014Numerbox, Lda, Av. Severiano Falc\u00e3o, N\u00ba 16 A, 2685-378 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Carina","family":"Pimentel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Algoritmi Research Unit, Production and Systems Department, School of Engineering, Campus de Azur\u00e9m, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"},{"name":"GOVCOPP, Campus de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1588-0579","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Helena","family":"Carvalho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio Associado de Sistemas Inteligentes, LASI, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"901","DOI":"10.1108\/IJPDLM-02-2019-0048","article-title":"Innovative solutions to increase last-mile delivery efficiency in B2C e-commerce: A literature review","volume":"49","author":"Mangiaracina","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Phys. Distrib. Logist. Manag."},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kim, J., and Jung, H. (2022). Robot Routing Problem of Last-Mile Delivery in Indoor Environments. Appl. Sci., 12.","key":"ref_2","DOI":"10.3390\/app12189111"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101938","DOI":"10.1016\/j.simpat.2019.101938","article-title":"Dynamic investigation on a new robotized vehicle for urban freight transport","volume":"96","author":"Silvestri","year":"2019","journal-title":"Simul. Model. Pract. Theory"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.1108\/IJPDLM-03-2015-0068","article-title":"Exploring urban institutional pressures on logistics service providers","volume":"46","author":"Rose","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int. J. Phys. Distrib. Logist. Manag."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejor.2020.09.011","article-title":"Models and algorithms for the delivery and installation routing problem","volume":"291","author":"Ali","year":"2020","journal-title":"Eur. J. Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"17","article-title":"Last mile logistics and tourist destinations in the Caribbean","volume":"9","author":"Amonde","year":"2017","journal-title":"Worldw. Hosp. Tour. Themes"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s00291-020-00607-8","article-title":"Last-mile delivery concepts: A survey from an operational research perspective","volume":"43","author":"Boysen","year":"2020","journal-title":"OR Spectr."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"74","DOI":"10.1016\/j.trpro.2019.06.009","article-title":"Last-Mile Delivery for Consumer Driven Logistics","volume":"39","author":"Galkin","year":"2019","journal-title":"Transp. Res. Procedia"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chen, P., and Chankov, S.M. (2017, January 10\u201313). Crowdsourced Delivery for Last-mile Distribution: An Agent-based Modelling and Simulation Approach. Proceedings of the 2017 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), Singapore.","key":"ref_9","DOI":"10.1109\/IEEM.2017.8290097"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ghiani, G., Laporte, G., and Musmanno, R. (2013). Introduction to Logistics Systems Management, John Wiley & Sons.","key":"ref_10","DOI":"10.1002\/9781118492185"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"426","DOI":"10.1108\/02635570110406730","article-title":"The relationship of logistics to supply chain management: Developing a common industry definition","volume":"101","author":"Lummus","year":"2001","journal-title":"Ind. Manag. Data Syst."},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lin, I.-C., Lin, T.-H., and Chang, S.-H. (2022). A Decision System for Routing Problems and Rescheduling Issues Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Appl. Sci., 12.","key":"ref_12","DOI":"10.3390\/app12126140"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106849","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cie.2020.106849","article-title":"Logistics service sharing and competition in a dual-channel e-commerce supply chain","volume":"149","author":"He","year":"2020","journal-title":"Comput. Ind. Eng."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"2033","article-title":"Vehicle routing problem and related algorithms for logistics distribution: A literature review and classification","volume":"22","author":"Konstantakopoulos","year":"2020","journal-title":"Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"19","article-title":"Heuristic Techniques for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows","volume":"13","author":"Hosny","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. Proc. Comput. Sci. Inf."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"865","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejor.2022.02.022","article-title":"Two-echelon vehicle routing problems: A literature review","volume":"304","author":"Sluijk","year":"2023","journal-title":"Eur. J. Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"673","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-5915.1978.tb00753.x","article-title":"A simulation and statistical analysis of stochastic vehicle routing with timing constraints","volume":"9","author":"Cook","year":"1978","journal-title":"Decis. Sci."},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"66","article-title":"A Survey on the Vehicle Routing Problem and Its Variants","volume":"04","author":"Kumar","year":"2012","journal-title":"Intell. Inf. Manag."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"401","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejor.2019.10.010","article-title":"A concise guide to existing and emerging vehicle routing problem variants","volume":"286","author":"Vidal","year":"2020","journal-title":"Eur. J. Oper. Res."},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ammouriova, M., Herrera, E.M., Neroni, M., Juan, A.A., and Faulin, J. (2023). Solving Vehicle Routing Problems under Uncertainty and in Dynamic Scenarios: From Simheuristics to Agile Optimization. Appl. Sci., 13.","key":"ref_20","DOI":"10.3390\/app13010101"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tan, S.-Y., and Yeh, W.-C. (2021). The Vehicle Routing Problem: State-of-the-Art Classification and Review. Appl. Sci., 11.","key":"ref_21","DOI":"10.3390\/app112110295"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2403","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cor.2005.09.012","article-title":"A general heuristic for vehicle routing problems","volume":"34","author":"Pisinger","year":"2007","journal-title":"Comput. Oper. Res."},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Toth, P., and Vido, D. (2002). The Vehicle Routing Problem, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.","key":"ref_23","DOI":"10.1137\/1.9780898718515"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"280","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cor.2018.02.007","article-title":"What makes a VRP solution good? The generation of problem-specific knowledge for heuristics","volume":"106","author":"Arnold","year":"2019","journal-title":"Comput. Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"144","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cie.2018.07.042","article-title":"A multi-population algorithm to solve the VRP with stochastic service and travel times","volume":"125","author":"Gutierrez","year":"2018","journal-title":"Comput. Ind. Eng."},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ag\u00e1rdi, A., Kov\u00e1cs, L., and B\u00e1nyai, T. (2022). Ontology Support for Vehicle Routing Problem. Appl. Sci., 12.","key":"ref_26","DOI":"10.3390\/app122312299"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"367","DOI":"10.1016\/S0927-0507(06)14006-2","article-title":"Chapter 6 Vehicle Routing","volume":"Volume 14","author":"Barnhart","year":"2007","journal-title":"Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"391","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1475-3995.1997.tb00094.x","article-title":"Genetic Algorithms for Vehicle Dispatching","volume":"4","author":"Leclerc","year":"1997","journal-title":"Int. Trans. Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_29","first-page":"93","article-title":"Heuristics and biases: The science of decision-making","volume":"32","author":"Dale","year":"2015","journal-title":"Bus. Inf. Rev."},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shi, Y., Lv, L., Hu, F., and Han, Q. (2020). A Heuristic Solution Method for Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing-Based Waste Collection Problems. Appl. Sci., 10.","key":"ref_30","DOI":"10.3390\/app10072403"},{"unstructured":"Irnich, S., Toth, P., and Vigo, D. (2014). Vehicle Routing, SIAM.","key":"ref_31"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejor.2015.07.027","article-title":"A priori optimization with recourse for the vehicle routing problem with hard time windows and stochastic service times","volume":"249","author":"Errico","year":"2016","journal-title":"Eur. J. Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eswa.2016.07.022","article-title":"The vehicle routing problem with hard time windows and stochastic travel and service time","volume":"64","author":"Miranda","year":"2016","journal-title":"Expert Syst. Appl."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1287\/trsc.37.1.69.12820","article-title":"Stochastic Vehicle Routing with Random Travel Times","volume":"37","author":"Kenyon","year":"2003","journal-title":"Transp. Sci."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1287\/trsc.26.3.161","article-title":"The Vehicle Routing Problem with Stochastic Travel Times","volume":"26","author":"Laporte","year":"1992","journal-title":"Transp. Sci."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cie.2019.03.047","article-title":"Stochastic vehicle routing problem with heterogeneous vehicles and multiple prioritized time windows: Mathematical modeling and solution approach","volume":"131","author":"Baradaran","year":"2019","journal-title":"Comput. Ind. Eng."},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Baranwal, M., Parekh, P.M., Marla, L., Salapaka, S.M., and Beck, C.L. (2016). Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows: A De-terministic Annealing approach. arXiv.","key":"ref_37","DOI":"10.1109\/ACC.2016.7525010"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"300","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejor.2014.03.006","article-title":"Branch-and-price and constraint programming for solving a real-life technician dispatching problem","volume":"238","author":"Gendreau","year":"2014","journal-title":"Eur. J. Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11939","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eswa.2011.03.088","article-title":"An adaptive parallel route construction heuristic for the vehicle routing problem with time windows constraints","volume":"38","author":"Pang","year":"2011","journal-title":"Expert Syst. Appl."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"333","DOI":"10.1016\/j.orl.2009.04.006","article-title":"A powerful route minimization heuristic for the vehicle routing problem with time windows","volume":"37","author":"Nagata","year":"2009","journal-title":"Oper. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"750","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejor.2008.08.003","article-title":"Scatter search for a real-life heterogeneous fleet vehicle routing problem with time windows and split deliveries in Brazil","volume":"199","author":"Belfiore","year":"2009","journal-title":"Eur. J. Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"383","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tre.2005.01.003","article-title":"The real-time time-dependent vehicle routing problem","volume":"42","author":"Chen","year":"2006","journal-title":"Transp. Res. Part E Logist. Transp. Rev."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tre.2019.11.002","article-title":"Minimizing the total completion time of an urban delivery problem with uncertain assembly time","volume":"132","author":"Liu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Transp. Res. Part E Logist. Transp. Rev."},{"unstructured":"Savsar, M., Nadoom, A., Al-Muraished, D., Ibrahim, R., and Al-Debasi, M. (2022, December 26). Analysis of Delivery and Assembly Operations in a Furniture Company Using Discrete Event Simulation. Available online: https:\/\/www.semanticscholar.org\/paper\/Analysis-of-Delivery-and-Assembly-Operations-in-a-Savsar-Nadoom\/4cb1803aa5b41d5602082cabeb2def3e846f5e3f.","key":"ref_44"},{"unstructured":"Wicaksono, T., and Pathomsiri, S. (2017, January 2\u20133). Time Series Analysis for Home Furniture Delivery and Assembly Service in Indonesia a December nd Thailand. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Urban Planning, Transport and Construction Engineering (ICUPTCE\u201917), Pattaya, Thailand.","key":"ref_45"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"292","DOI":"10.1504\/IJBPIM.2019.105686","article-title":"Development of a performance measurement system for a home furniture delivery and assembly logistics provider in Thailand","volume":"9","author":"Tunyaplin","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Bus. Process. Integr. Manag."},{"key":"ref_47","first-page":"277","article-title":"A SCOR-based performance evaluation framework for last-mile delivery of DIY home furniture products","volume":"38","author":"Tunyaplin","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Logist. Syst. Manag."},{"unstructured":"Yin, R.K. (2003). Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Sage Publications.","key":"ref_48"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23606","DOI":"10.3402\/qhw.v9.23606","article-title":"Methodology or method? A critical review of qualitative case study reports","volume":"9","author":"Hyett","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Qual. Stud. Heal. Well-Being"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"195","DOI":"10.1108\/01443570210414329","article-title":"Case research in operations management","volume":"22","author":"Voss","year":"2002","journal-title":"Int. J. Oper. Prod. Manag."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1108\/JMTM-06-2022-0235","article-title":"Assessing the impact of fusion-based additive manufacturing technologies on green supply chain management performance","volume":"34","author":"Ferreira","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Manuf. Technol. Manag."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1473","DOI":"10.1108\/JMTM-04-2022-0148","article-title":"Exploring the interrelations between additive manufacturing adoption barriers and supply chain vulnerabilities: The case of an original equipment manufacturer","volume":"33","author":"Naghshineh","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Manuf. Technol. Manag."},{"unstructured":"Desaulniers, G., Madsen, O.B., and Ropke, S. (2014). Vehicle Routing, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.","key":"ref_53"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cor.2015.06.001","article-title":"Time-dependent routing problems: A review","volume":"64","author":"Gendreau","year":"2015","journal-title":"Comput. Oper. Res."},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Saksuriya, P., and Likasiri, C. (2022). Hybrid Heuristic for Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows and Compatibility Constraints in Home Healthcare System. Appl. Sci., 12.","key":"ref_55","DOI":"10.3390\/app12136486"}],"container-title":["Applied Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-3417\/13\/5\/3285\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T18:47:43Z","timestamp":1760122063000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-3417\/13\/5\/3285"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,4]]},"references-count":55,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3]]}},"alternative-id":["app13053285"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/app13053285","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-3417"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2076-3417"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,4]]}}}