Enhancing Cost Efficiency in Cold Chain Logistics Services: A Performance Comparison between Experience-Based Routing and Excel Solver Optimization

บทคัดย่อ

In the cold chain logistics industry, maintaining product integrity through precise temperature control and timely delivery is paramount. However, many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) continue to rely on subjective, experience-based routing—a heuristic approach that often leads to sub-optimal paths and inflated operational costs. The objectives of this study were: 1) to analyze and document empirical experience-based routes used by drivers; 2) to develop a mathematical optimization model specifically for cold chain logistics using Excel Solver; and 3) to evaluate the performance gap between manual intuition and algorithmic solutions to quantify potential efficiency gains. The research utilized purposive sampling of five empirical delivery routes as the primary sample from a distribution plant in Pathum Thani. The research tools included manual driver logs and Microsoft Excel Solver utilizing the Simplex LP algorithm. Data were collected by documenting distances from experienced drivers to establish a baseline, which were then analyzed through a comparative performance gap analysis against the mathematical model to identify efficiency improvements. The research results are as follows: 1) Algorithmic optimization consistently outperformed human heuristic decision-making in 80% of the tested cases (Routes 1, 3, 4, and 5); 2) The most significant efficiency gain was recorded in Route 1, where the total distance was reduced by 9.5%, decreasing from 95 to 86 units; and 3) While driver intuition reached the mathematical optimum in one instance (Route 2), the overall findings indicate that human experience is inconsistent across complex scenarios compared to systematic optimization. The study concludes that integrating a systematic routing tool like Excel Solver enables measurable reductions in mileage and fuel consumption. For SMEs, this represents a viable, low-cost digital transformation strategy that strengthens both cost-efficiency and product quality retention in cold chain operations.