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How to Use the VRP Solver
Step 1: Provide Problem Data
You have two ways to input your data:
- Quick Start: Click the Generate Random Inputs button to automatically create a complete problem scenario.
- Manual Entry: Manually enter the Number of Customers, their Demands, the Truck Capacity, and fill in the distances in the generated table.
Step 2: Follow the Guided Steps
Once all required inputs are present, the tool will activate a color-coded guide to lead you through the solution process. Follow the highlighted orange button:
- Click Calculate Distance Matrix to compute the shortest paths between all locations.
- Click Calculate Savings List to rank the most efficient route pairings.
- Click Determine Routes to generate the final, optimized vehicle routes.
Step 3: Analyze the Results
The solution is displayed in multiple sections:
- Routes Table: Shows each truck's route, its used capacity, and the full path sequence.
- Visual Graph: Displays the final routes graphically, with the central depot always colored grey. Once routes appear, you can use the animation controls on the top-left of the map:
- Click Animate All Routes to watch all trucks travel their paths simultaneously.
- Click an individual Animate Truck X link to visualize a specific route.
Customizing the View
Click the settings icon (⚙) in the top-right corner to open the draggable Graph Settings panel. From here, you can adjust the appearance of the graph, including:
- The color and size of nodes and their labels.
- The color, size, and position of the distance values on the arcs.
Other Tools
- Reset: Clears all fields and results to start a new problem.
- Import/Export: Allows you to save your input data to a JSON file or load it back into the tool.
Credit: This tool was designed by Dr. Nizar Shbikat from the Logistics Department at German Jordanian University, based on the Clarke & Wright savings algorithm.
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