Solution of Travelling Salesman Problem for Wholesale Outlays Considering Repeated Visitation of Certain Sales Outlets

Abstract

This paper presents the solving of the travelling salesman problem with repeated visitation of several outlets. The genetic algorithm was used as a technique for the finding the shortest route in the case of visiting every destination point. The three cases are described in the present research: the solving of the Euclidean travelling salesman problem, the solving of the travelling salesman problem considering the region transportation network and the solving of the travelling salesman problem with repeated visitation of some sales outlets. The solving algorithm which involves partitioning the route into sections without repeated visits to sales outlets has been proposed. Obtained results were combined into one which was considered as optimized for a given route. As a result of our investigation we have proposed the optimized routes that are up to 29% shorter than the actual ones used by the wholesale trade enterprises. As we can see this methodology provides a significant reduction of the transportation expenses of such organizations.