An optimal dispatching time policy and vehicle allocation for delivery service system with stochastic arrival of demand

In this study, we considered a delivery service system that has a central depot and a finite number of delivery vehicles. Its whole delivery service area is divided into a number of sub-areas. The available pool of vehicles that the system possesses is to be allocated to these sub-areas with a policy that each sub-area should have at least one vehicle assigned to it. Demand is treated to be arriving in a random and stochastic behavior