Use this sheet to define the objective priorities for the model.

Each row represents one objective component and its associated weight. The supported goal values are prepopulated in the template and should not be modified. cuOpt combines all goals with positive weights into a single weighted objective function. If a goal’s weight is blank or set to zero, that goal does not influence the solution. If all goal weights are left blank, cuOpt defaults to minimizing total travel cost plus the total vehicle fixed cost.

Goal

Specifies the objective component to activate. The following goal values are supported (predefined in the template):

• Cost – Minimize total travel cost defined in the Costs sheet.

• Travel time – Minimize total travel time defined in the Travel Time sheet.

• Prize – Maximize total prize collected from completed tasks, defined in the Tasks sheet.

• Vehicle fixed cost – Minimize total fixed vehicle activation costs defined in the Vehicles sheet.

• Variance route size – Minimize imbalance in the number of tasks assigned per route.

• Variance route service time – Minimize imbalance in total service time across routes.

Each goal should appear only once.

Weight

Defines the relative importance of the goal in the objective function. A missing weight or a weight of 0 means the goal is inactive. A positive weight activates the goal. If all of the weights are blank, cuOpt defaults to minimizing total cost.

The total objective value is calculated as a weighted sum of the active goals. Each objective component is multiplied by its corresponding weight, and the results are added together into a single value that cuOpt minimizes.

Weights do not need to sum to 1. Only their relative values matter.

How Prize Works in a Minimization Objective

cuOpt minimizes the overall objective function.

Because Prize represents revenue, it is internally treated as a negative contribution to the objective (i.e., it is subtracted). This allows the solver to maximize prize while still minimizing the total objective value.

When the Prize weight is positive in the Tasks sheet:

• Tasks become optional.

• The solver performs a task only if the prize (revenue) outweighs the associated travel, time, and fixed costs.

If the Prize goal weight is zero, prize values will not influence the solution.

Rules and Structure

• Goal values are predefined and should not be edited.

• Each goal should appear only once.

• Weight values must be blank or numeric and non-negative.