ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on formulating various optimisation problems arising in freight transportation and distribution using mathematical models, and in particular integer linear programming formulations. It introduces a number of ways in which they can be solved. Optimisation problems with integer variables are combinatorial in nature, meaning that there are a finite number of solutions. Such problems are also referred to as discrete optimisation problems, which consist of finding an optimal solution from the finite set of solutions. A relatively straightforward way of solving mathematical programming formulations is to use general purpose solvers, including those that are either commercially available or free for public use. A constructive heuristic for an optimisation problem is used to identify a feasible, but not necessarily a near-optimal, solution of that problem. Matheuristics are hybrid methods that combine mathematical programming, or in general optimisation methods, with heuristic algorithms. The aim is to take advantage of the power and capabilities of both classes of methods.
