The UPB Logistics Operations Center (CeOL) announced the publication of the scientific article "Improving the Donations' Delivery Process at the Food Bank of Bogotá: A Vehicle Routing Approach" in the international journal Sustainability, one of the academic publications with the greatest reach in the field of sustainability and management. The research was developed in collaboration with the Logistics Systems Research Group of the University of La Sabana in Colombia, and includes co-authorship by Agatha da Silva, Ph.D., director and researcher at the CeOL research center.

The study focused on optimizing the donation distribution process of the Bogotá Food Bank, an organization that delivers products to hundreds of beneficiary organizations to support populations in vulnerable situations. The work presented a computational application based on optimization models of the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), whose methodology included the geographic grouping of beneficiaries using clustering algorithms, the periodic assignment of deliveries, and the solution of the Capacitated Periodic Vehicle Routing Problem (CPVRP) with open-source tools.

Using real operating data, the model generated optimized routes that significantly reduced distribution time and vehicle use, while increasing the amount of food delivered. The results demonstrate the value of advanced analytics and optimization in the field of humanitarian logistics.

This publication reflects CeOL's commitment to applied research in sustainable logistics, operations optimization, and data-driven decision-making, areas that UPB promotes with the aim of generating positive social impact and contributing to the development of innovative solutions for highly relevant social challenges.