Dynamic perishable item replenishment with minimized trailer utilization

A method for dynamic perishable item replenishment, the method comprising:

• obtaining dynamic replenishment data for a perishable item, the dynamic replenishment data comprising forecast daily demand data for the perishable item, current inventory data for the perishable item, and constraint data;
• calculating, by a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) cost minimization model using the dynamic replenishment data, a minimized number of transport vehicles for transporting instances of the perishable item to a plurality of recipients in conformance with the constraint data;
• assigning the instances of the perishable item to a subset of vehicles in a plurality of available transport vehicles for transporting the instances of the perishable item to each recipient in the plurality of recipients, wherein the subset of vehicles comprises the minimized number of transport vehicles capable of delivering all the instances of the perishable item to the plurality of recipients;
• generating, by a MILP pallet minimization model using the dynamic replenishment data, customized pallet build parameters comprising instructions for building a plurality of pallets for transporting the instances of the perishable item using a minimum number of partial pallets;
• and
• generating a replenishment result comprising the customized pallet build parameters for building the plurality of pallets with the minimum number of partial pallets and assignments of the plurality of pallets to the minimized number of transport vehicles for transport of the instances of the perishable item to the plurality of recipients with reduced transportation resource usage.

One or more computer storage devices having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, which, upon execution by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

• obtaining dynamic replenishment data for a plurality of perishable items available from a plurality of suppliers for delivery to a plurality of distribution centers (DCs), the dynamic replenishment data comprising forecast daily demand data for the plurality of perishable items, current inventory data for the plurality of perishable items, and user-configurable constraint data;
• calculating, by a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) cost minimization model using the dynamic replenishment data, a minimized number of transport vehicles for transporting instances of each perishable item from the plurality of suppliers to a plurality of DCs in conformance with supplier constraint data;
• assigning the instances of each perishable item requested from the plurality of suppliers to a subset of vehicles in a plurality of available transport vehicles for transporting the instances of each perishable item from each supplier to each DC in the plurality of DCs, wherein the subset of vehicles comprises the minimized number of transport vehicles capable of delivering all the instances of the plurality of perishable items to the plurality of DCs;
• generating, by a MILP pallet minimization model using the dynamic replenishment data, customized pallet build parameters comprising instructions for building a plurality of pallets for transporting the instances of the plurality of perishable items requested from each supplier using a minimum number of partial pallets;
• and
• generating a replenishment result comprising the customized pallet build parameters for building the plurality of pallets with the minimum number of partial pallets and assignments of the plurality of pallets from the plurality of suppliers to the minimized number of transport vehicles for transport of the instances of each perishable item to the plurality of DCs with reduced transportation resource usage.