Addressing inaccessible customers in the vehicle routing problem

This paper introduces an advanced variant of the Vehicle Routing Problem with Inaccessible Customers (VRP-IC), tailored to address scenarios where customers in specific zones are rendered inaccessible due to road damage or zone controls. Customers are categorized into two segments: those reachable via traditional routes and those necessitating indirect delivery through transfer station, serviced by a distinct vehicle fleet. This paper extends the standard Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) model to encapsulate these accessibility challenges, offering a realistic portrayal of routing difficulties posed by external constraints like natural disasters and urban restrictions. Methodologically, we employ Gurobi to solve the VRP-IC to efficiently handle the dual delivery mechanism, optimizing both direct and indirect routes while minimizing costs. This approach presents a robust solution to VRPs complicated by access limitations, particularly valuable for logistical planning in disaster-stricken or regulation-heavy areas. Numerical examples are carried out to highlight the practical relevance of our approach, showcasing its potential to revolutionize logistics planning in environments affected by accessibility constraints.