A Milk-run routing and Scheduling model for a Smart Manufacturing System

The fourth industrial transformation can create value for companies. It can bring significant improvements: those who want to be competitive in the market must implement new methods and tools to make plants efficient and productive. Industry 4.0 introduces new paradigms promoting the adoption of innovative technologies. In this context, the material handling system plays a crucial role in increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the manufacturing systems. This paper proposes a model based on the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows. The model aims to plan a dynamic routing strategy for milk-run to deliver the materials to different working stations, ensuring a materials’ distribution consistent with the time slot and minimizing the tugger trains path. A real industrial full case of a worldwide automotive company validates the model. The results of the study show benefits under economic (cost saving of 18%), environmental (allowed to reduce the distance travelled by tugger trains by around 23% for each work shift) and social (organizational development) perspectives.