Optimization of Cold Chain Logistic Distribution Networks in the United States

Cold Chain Logistics is a branch focusing on the storage and delivery of refrigerated perishable goods that has become more necessary in society due to high demands for these goods. It not only requires the least amount of transportation cost possible but also considers time and capacity constraints, load balance, and class of service. This paper proposes two new strategies to optimize logistic distributions in the United States that take into account population density and class of service to reduce the cost of delivery. The load balanced VRP strategy clusters the locations so that the total transportation costs among the clusters are relatively equal. The hybrid VRP strategy employs load balancing but adds Class of Service as a factor, which clusters the locations based on priority. The results fit the model that the logistics that used population density and class of service had less cost of delivery than the control group, which collected from top two cold chain logistic companies in the United States. Additionally, two of the strategies tested also consider proximity to supply manufacturers to reduce the time of deliver and preserve freshness.