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Real-Time, Wide Area Dispatch of Mobil Tank Trucks

Author

Listed:
  • Gerald G. Brown

    (Operations Research Department, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California 93943)

  • Carol J. Ellis

    (Mobil Oil Corporation, 580 Chelsea Street, East Boston, Massachusetts 02128)

  • Glenn W. Graves

    (Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024)

  • David Ronen

    (Operations Research Department, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California 93943)

Abstract

Mobil Oil Corporation has adopted a completely integrated, highly automated, real-time computer system for centralized control of distribution to customers in the continental United States of light petroleum products---gasolines, diesel, heating oil, and so forth. This system manages all aspects of marketing and distribution, from order entry via an audio response computer through credit checking, delivery, and billing---operations that annually generate $4 billion in sales on 600,000 customer orders and that use 120 bulk terminals and a fleet of more than 430 vehicles. The heart of this system is computer assisted dispatch (CAD), a collection of integer programming methods used within a real-time, transaction-driven information management system, which allots about one second, on average, per dispatch for optimization. CAD exploits the experience and knowledge of the human dispatchers it assists. Using CAD, Mobil has substantially reduced costs and staff while improving customer service.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerald G. Brown & Carol J. Ellis & Glenn W. Graves & David Ronen, 1987. "Real-Time, Wide Area Dispatch of Mobil Tank Trucks," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 17(1), pages 107-120, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:17:y:1987:i:1:p:107-120
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.17.1.107
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Muyldermans, L. & Pang, G., 2010. "On the benefits of co-collection: Experiments with a multi-compartment vehicle routing algorithm," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 206(1), pages 93-103, October.
    2. Ostermeier, Manuel & Henke, Tino & Hübner, Alexander & Wäscher, Gerhard, 2021. "Multi-compartment vehicle routing problems: State-of-the-art, modeling framework and future directions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 292(3), pages 799-817.
    3. F Cornillier & F F Boctor & G Laporte & J Renaud, 2008. "An exact algorithm for the petrol station replenishment problem," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 59(5), pages 607-615, May.
    4. Furkan Uzar, M. & Çatay, Bülent, 2012. "Distribution planning of bulk lubricants at BP Turkey," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 870-881.
    5. Yan Cheng Hsu & Jose L. Walteros & Rajan Batta, 2020. "Solving the petroleum replenishment and routing problem with variable demands and time windows," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 294(1), pages 9-46, November.
    6. Goodson, Justin C., 2015. "A priori policy evaluation and cyclic-order-based simulated annealing for the multi-compartment vehicle routing problem with stochastic demands," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 241(2), pages 361-369.
    7. Ghiani, Gianpaolo & Guerriero, Francesca & Laporte, Gilbert & Musmanno, Roberto, 2003. "Real-time vehicle routing: Solution concepts, algorithms and parallel computing strategies," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(1), pages 1-11, November.
    8. Rego, Cesar & Roucairol, Catherine, 1995. "Using Tabu search for solving a dynamic multi-terminal truck dispatching problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 411-429, June.
    9. Samira Mirzaei & Sanne Wøhlk, 2017. "Erratum to: A Branch-and-Price algorithm for two multi-compartment vehicle routing problems," EURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics, Springer;EURO - The Association of European Operational Research Societies, vol. 6(2), pages 185-218, June.
    10. Gayialis, Sotiris P. & Tatsiopoulos, Ilias P., 2004. "Design of an IT-driven decision support system for vehicle routing and scheduling," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(2), pages 382-398, January.
    11. Vélez-Gallego, Mario C. & Teran-Somohano, Alejandro & Smith, Alice E., 2020. "Minimizing late deliveries in a truck loading problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 286(3), pages 919-928.
    12. Cornillier, Fabien & Boctor, Fayez & Renaud, Jacques, 2012. "Heuristics for the multi-depot petrol station replenishment problem with time windows," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 220(2), pages 361-369.
    13. Bani, Abderrahman & El Hallaoui, Issmail & Corréa, Ayoub Insa & Tahir, Adil, 2023. "Solving a real-world multi-depot multi-period petrol replenishment problem with complex loading constraints," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 311(1), pages 154-172.
    14. Ichoua, Soumia & Gendreau, Michel & Potvin, Jean-Yves, 2003. "Vehicle dispatching with time-dependent travel times," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 379-396, January.
    15. Samira Mirzaei & Sanne Wøhlk, 2019. "A Branch-and-Price algorithm for two multi-compartment vehicle routing problems," EURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics, Springer;EURO - The Association of European Operational Research Societies, vol. 8(1), pages 1-33, March.
    16. Nasr Al-Hinai & Chefi Triki, 2020. "A two-level evolutionary algorithm for solving the petrol station replenishment problem with periodicity constraints and service choice," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 286(1), pages 325-350, March.
    17. Chiang, Wen-Chyuan & Russell, Robert A., 2004. "Integrating purchasing and routing in a propane gas supply chain," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(3), pages 710-729, May.
    18. Soumia Ichoua & Michel Gendreau & Jean-Yves Potvin, 2000. "Diversion Issues in Real-Time Vehicle Dispatching," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(4), pages 426-438, November.

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