In-plant electric vehicle scheduling problem with continuous demand and load-dependent energy consumption assumptions

The trend towards making all business operations more environmentally-friendly increases the use of electric vehicles in all levels of supply chains. Due to the environmental damage of fossil fuels, conventional vehicles are gradually replaced with less harmful alternatives. Among them, electric vehicle technology appears to be one of the most preferred technologies in logistics. However, vehicles with electric batteries impose additional restrictions due to their limited range and relatively longer charging times. The energy consumption of vehicles also depends on the load it carries. In this study, we propose a Mixed Integer Programming model for an in-facility electric vehicle scheduling problem, considering the aforementioned properties of electric vehicles. It is assumed that electric vehicles are used for collecting waste from workstations. The model aims to schedule the pre-defined routes while satisfying the electric-vehicle-related constraints. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first study that addresses electric vehicle scheduling problems with continuous demand and load-dependent energy consumption. We also present a numerical example which shows the added value of the model.