Approximation Algorithms for the Cumulative Vehicle Routing Problem with Stochastic Demands

Abstract: In the Cumulative Vehicle Routing Problem (Cu-VRP), we need to find a feasible itinerary for a capacitated vehicle located at the depot to satisfy customers' demand, as in the well-known Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), but the goal is to minimize the cumulative cost of the vehicle, which is based on the vehicle's load throughout the itinerary. If the demand of each customer is unknown until the vehicle visits it, the problem is called Cu-VRP with Stochastic Demands (Cu-VRPSD). Assume that the approximation ratio of metric TSP is $1.5$. In this paper, we propose a randomized $3.456$-approximation algorithm for Cu-VRPSD, improving the best-known approximation ratio of $6$ (Discret. Appl. Math. 2020). Since VRP with Stochastic Demands (VRPSD) is a special case of Cu-VRPSD, as a corollary, we also obtain a randomized $3.25$-approximation algorithm for VRPSD, improving the best-known approximation ratio of $3.5$ (Oper. Res. 2012). For Cu-VRP, we give a randomized $3.194$-approximation algorithm, improving the best-known approximation ratio of $4$ (Oper. Res. Lett. 2013). Moreover, if each customer is allowed to be satisfied by using multiple tours, we obtain further improvements for Cu-VRPSD and Cu-VRP.