Spatial decision support system for the route management for milk collection from dairy farms

In this research, a new spatial decision support system (SDSS) was developed, which solves the milk collection problem in two stages. First it applies an algorithm, employing heuristic techniques, generating solutions in a short period of time. In a second step, a graphic interface has been developed, which allows interaction and changes to be carried out in a rapid and intuitive way on the routes generated by the routing algorithm. The route manager can also carry out a broad range of "What if'' simulations to find the solution that minimizes cost. With the use of this tool, significant savings have been obtained in terms of the collection time and kilometers covered by freight, while still keeping the current fleet of vehicles. Sensitivity analysis shows that the total cost of the process is more sensitive to increasing truck capacity than duplicating vehicle working shifts. The existence of farms with difficult access increases the collection costs substantially.