Distribution problems are ubiquitous in today's economy. A lot of issues have
been resolved in distributing services to geographically scattered points. In the
banking industry, Automated Teller Machines
(ATMs) are one such paradigm in which the
logistics are to be given importance. ATM indicates the development of Information
Technology (IT) in the banking sector. There are two types of ATMs, one is the branch ATM,
the other is the out-of-branch ATM. The bank branches will take care of the ATM located
in their respective branches, while the out-of-branch ATMs, such as those located
in departmental stores and petrol bunks, will be taken care of by the cash centers.
Each cash center has a number of ATMs under its jurisdiction. Cash centers need to set
a route for carrying money for the ATMs and to pick-up the amounts collected
(not yet in vogue in India) from the ATMs. An efficient routing is done to route vehicles from
cash centers to all ATMs to deliver cash, and at the same
time collect the dropped cash from the ATMs. The number of out-of-branch ATMs is very large and every day there
is need to randomly fill cash. Depending on the capacity of each ATM, many
alternative decisions need to be taken. At present, the work process decision for ATMs in
Indian banking industry is made by the operators. There is need for a proficient method
that enables decision makers to serve the ATMs faster. Hence, the problem of ATM
routing is significant. The ATM routing can be compared with the standard Vehicle
Routing Problem (VRP).
Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), also known a Vehicle Dispatching or
Delivery Problem, like its well-known counterpart, the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP),
is fascinating. It is easy to describe, but difficult to solve. VRP occurs in many
service systems such as delivery, customer pick-up, repair and maintenance. VRP means,
a fleet of vehicles, each with a fixed capacity, starting at a common depot and
returning to the depot after visiting all locations where service is demanded. A further
fascinating feature of VRP is that the basic problem can be extended into an untold number
of variations, which commonly occur in real world problems. One vital variant is
the delivery and pick-up of goods by the vehicle. Even here, there are three
different problem categories involving the transportation of goods from both the central
depot to the customers, as well as from the customers back to the central depot. The
different categories are: simultaneous pick-ups and deliveries, mixed pick-ups and
deliveries and problems when pick-ups are allowed only after deliveries.
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