Fast Combinatorial Algorithms for Efficient Sortation

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Van Dyk, Madison; Klause, Kim; Koenemann, Jochen; Megow, Nicole
• 署名单位: University of Bremen; University of Waterloo
• 刊物名称: MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-5610
• DOI: 10.1007/s10107-025-02239-8
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Network design; approximation; trees

摘要

Modern parcel logistic networks are designed to ship demand between given origin, destination pairs of nodes in an underlying directed network. Efficiency dictates that volume needs to be consolidated at intermediate nodes in typical hub-and-spoke fashion. In practice, such consolidation requires parcel sortation. In this work, we propose a mathematical model for the physical requirements, and limitations of parcel sortation. We then show that it is NP-hard to determine whether a feasible sortation plan exists. We discuss several settings, where (near-)feasibility of a given sortation instance can be determined efficiently. The algorithms we propose are fast and build on combinatorial witness set type lower bounds that are reminiscent and extend those used in earlier work on degree-bounded spanning trees and arborescences.