Irohara Takashi

<p>In the shipping area of a cross-docking center, it is important to decide the chutes to be assigned each store and the docks each truck should be assigned to in order to reduce the transportation time of items between chutes and docks. However, there are cases that consume more time than anticipated because of congestion. Most of the existing literature does not consider the relaxation of congestion. Some researchers have been studying it, but there is still insufficient knowledge about it under specific situations. In this study, we propose a mathematical model for a chute and dock assignment problem based on a traditional model that not only reduces transportation time of items, but also relaxes congestion. To verify the characteristics of the proposed model, we compare this model with the traditional model in terms of objective function and results of assignment. To solve a large-scale problem that cannot be solved by an exact method, we propose a hybrid metaheuristic based on a standard genetic algorithm and local search algorithm. To evaluate the performance of the proposed metaheuristic, we compare it with the optimal solution and a standard genetic algorithm in a small-scale problem, as well as with a random search algorithm and multi-point local search algorithm in a large-scale problem.</p>