Agent-based simulation improves e-grocery deliveries using horizontal cooperation

Abstract

E-commerce has increased tremendously in recent decades because of improvements in the information and telecommunications technology along with changes in societal lifestyles. More recently, e-grocery (groceries purchased online) including fresh vegetables and fruit, is gaining importance as the most-efficient delivery system in terms of cost and time. In this respect, we evaluate the effect of cooperation-based policies on service quality among different supermarkets in Pamplona, Spain. Concerning the methodology, we deploy, firstly, a detailed survey in Pamplona in order to model e-grocery demand patterns. Secondly, we develop an agent-based simulation model for generating scenarios in cooperative and non-cooperative settings, considering the real data obtained from the survey analysis. Thus, a Vehicle Routing Problem is dynamically generated and solved within the simulation framework using a biased-randomization algorithm. Finally, the results show significant reductions in lead times and better customer satisfaction when employing horizontal cooperation in e-grocery distribution.