Vehicle routing problem for fresh products distribution considering customer satisfaction through adaptive large neighborhood search

•VRPFPD-CS is proposed focusing on fresh products distribution.•Two types of satisfaction function are designed considering customer behavior.•A MINP model is established to minimize the total distribution cost.•An improved ALNS algorithm with new operators and a new strategy is designed.•The proposed method can enhance customer experience in VRPFPD-CS. To deal with the fresh products distribution problem in city logistics, this paper focuses on the customer psychological behavior considering both delivery time and the fresh products quality from the perspective of customer satisfaction. Thereby, we propose a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model, among which a time satisfaction function depending on customers’ time windows and a quality satisfaction function considering the freshness of the products are introduced as constraints. Then, an improved Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search algorithm is designed with a new strategy to jump out of the local optimal solutions and with new operators considering satisfaction functions. Numerical experiments on benchmark instances of standard Solomon instances demonstrate the effectiveness and the efficiency of the proposed method. The calculation results showed that the proposed algorithm is superior to previous approaches by obtaining better feasible solutions with less calculation time. Furthermore, managemental insights are provided for enterprises on making wise investments while ensuring customer experience through optimizing distribution strategies.