Optimizing Time Slot Allocation in Single Operator Home Delivery Problems

Motivated by applications in last-mile home delivery, we tackle the problem of optimizing service time to customers by service providers in an online-realtime scenario. We focus on the particular case where a single operator performs all deliveries. We formalize the problem with combinatorial optimization models. We propose diverse time slot assignment policies and level of service measures. We perform a computational study to evaluate the impact of each policy on the quality of a solution, and to assess the overall effectiveness on the time slot assignment process.