BALANCING DRIVER WORKLOADS THROUGH TWO-STAGE SERVICE AREA ASSIGNMENT IN LAST-MILE DELIVERY.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	BALANCING DRIVER WORKLOADS THROUGH TWO-STAGE SERVICE AREA ASSIGNMENT IN LAST-MILE DELIVERY.
Authors:	Jang, Jin-Myeong¹, Mei, Hangyu¹, Kim, Hwa-Joong² hwa-joong.kim@inha.ac.kr
Source:	International Journal of Industrial Engineering. 2026, Vol. 33 Issue 1, p160-188. 29p.
Subjects:	Employees' workload, Assignment problems (Programming), Heuristic algorithms, Distribution planning, Delivery of goods, Mathematical optimization, Electronic commerce
Abstract:	This study addressed a two-stage delivery assignment problem in e-commerce with short- and mid-term planning phases. The mid-term phase groups small service areas into core areas and assigns them to drivers. These core areas are refined in the short-term phase by allocating unassigned areas based on mid-term results. This study aims to assign service areas to drivers to minimize delivery time while balancing workloads under preferences and practical constraints. It is formulated by extending traditional districting models. This study proposes two heuristic algorithms. The Relax-and-Fix heuristic relaxes decision variables to solve subproblems, then gradually fixes them to construct an initial solution. The Fix-and-Optimize heuristic fixes variable subsets and applies local search for improvement. Computational experiments using real-world data demonstrated good solution quality and computational efficiency. The heuristics also balance workloads effectively without a substantial increase in delivery time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of International Journal of Industrial Engineering is the property of International Journal of Industrial Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Engineering Source

Description
Abstract:	This study addressed a two-stage delivery assignment problem in e-commerce with short- and mid-term planning phases. The mid-term phase groups small service areas into core areas and assigns them to drivers. These core areas are refined in the short-term phase by allocating unassigned areas based on mid-term results. This study aims to assign service areas to drivers to minimize delivery time while balancing workloads under preferences and practical constraints. It is formulated by extending traditional districting models. This study proposes two heuristic algorithms. The Relax-and-Fix heuristic relaxes decision variables to solve subproblems, then gradually fixes them to construct an initial solution. The Fix-and-Optimize heuristic fixes variable subsets and applies local search for improvement. Computational experiments using real-world data demonstrated good solution quality and computational efficiency. The heuristics also balance workloads effectively without a substantial increase in delivery time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	10724761
DOI:	10.23055/ijietap.2026.33.1.11083