A decision support system for the courier vehicle scheduling problem

The timely collection and transportation of checks from branches to the operations center is a primary concern to bank managers. Transit checks need to be cleared quickly to maximize available funds to the bank's cash managers. However, management must not over-commit resources, such as drivers and vehicles, to improve the movement of checks from branch banks to the operations center. Bank managers must make difficult decisions regarding courier fleet size, routing, and scheduling in order to balance these conflicting goals and to minimize overall system costs. We present a micro-computer based decision support system (DSS) that helps bank managers make good decisions for their vehicle courier service. This system, known as Chexpedite, helps establish the correct number of vehicles, the appropriate collection routes, the timing of the routes, and a view of the check flow pattern into the operations center (back office check processing center). The system has been implemented at a number of banks, indicating its value to bank management. In this paper, the logic of Chexpedite and its database, optimization, and simulation capabilities are presented. A case study application demonstrates the system. The final section concludes with a discussion of Chexpedite's strengths and weaknesses.