A three-phase matheuristic for the Packaging and Shipping Problem

To provide answers to these issues, we introduce the Packaging and Shipping Problem (PSP). The PSP looks for a solution approach that jointly determines the workforce over a multi-period horizon and daily operational plans while minimizing the total logistics cost. We consider two strategies that aim to enhance the flexibility of the process and the efficiency of resources use: reassignment and postponement. To tackle the Packaging and Shipping Problem we propose a model, and a three-phase matheuristic. This heuristic is proved to be competitive with respect to the direct solution of the model with a commercial solver on real-life based instances.