Path Optimization of Cold Chain Distribution With Multiple Distribution Centers Considering Carbon Emissions

With the growing awareness of green logistics, the carbon emissions must be considered in the cold chain distribution (CCD). Whereas the traditional regional distribution mode cannot deliver multiple small batches to designated regions right on time, this paper establishes a mathematical model for the minimal distribution cost of fresh food based on the resource/information sharing between multiple distribution centers (multi-DC) and the soft time window constraint, aiming to satisfy the new demands on logistics distribution (e.g. high timeliness, low cost, greenness and resource/information sharing). The total cost refers to the sum of vehicle dispatch cost, transport cost, time penalty cost, cargo loss cost and carbon emissions cost. Next, the proposed model was solved by the hybrid algorithm of artificial fishswarm algorithm (AFSA) and ACA (AFSA-ACA hybrid algorithm). The simulation examples show that the multi-DC CCD mode can effectively reduce the total distribution cost and carbon emission cost compared to the traditional regional CCD mode.