An Caris

Planning Problems in Intermodal Freight Transport: Accomplishments and Prospects

Abstract Intermodal freight transport has received increased attention due to problems of road congestion, environmental concerns and traffic safety. A growing recognition of the strategic importance of speed and agility in the supply chain is forcing firms to reconsider traditional logistic services. As a consequence, research interest in intermodal freight transportation problems is growing. This paper provides an overview of planning decisions in intermodal freight transport and solution methods proposed in the scientific literature. Planning problems are classified according to the type of decision maker and decision level. General conclusions are given and subjects for further research are identified.

Decision support in intermodal transport: A new research agenda

This paper proposes new research themes concerning decision support in intermodal transport. Decision support models have been constructed for private stakeholders (e.g. network operators, drayage operators, terminal operators or intermodal operators) as well as for public actors such as policy makers and port authorities. Intermodal research topics include policy support, terminal network design, intermodal service network design, intermodal routing, drayage operations and ICT innovations. For each research topic, the current state of the art and gaps in existing models are identified. Current trends in intermodal decision support models include the introduction of environmental concerns, the development of dynamic models and the growth in innovative applications of Operations Research techniques. Limited data availability and problem size (network scale) and related computational considerations are issues which increase the complexity of decision support in intermodal transport.

A local search heuristic for the pre- and end-haulage of intermodal container terminals

Pre- and end-haulage of intermodal container terminals involves the pickup or delivery of containers at customer locations. The attractiveness of intermodal transport can be increased by organizing the road segment in the intermodal transport chain more efficiently. In this paper the drayage of containers in the service area of an intermodal terminal is modelled as a full truckload pickup and delivery problem with time windows (FTPDPTW). A two-phase insertion heuristic is proposed to construct an initial solution. This solution is improved with a local search heuristic based on three neighbourhoods. Numerical experiments are described to demonstrate the mechanisms of the heuristics.

Integrated planning of loaded and empty container movements

Efficiently planning drayage operations is an important task for transportation companies since these operations constitute a large part of the cost of an intermodal transport. In this paper, a full truckload vehicle routing problem for transporting loaded and empty containers in drayage operations is studied. For empty container transports, either the origin or the destination is not predefined. The problem is formulated as an asymmetric multiple vehicle Travelling Salesman Problem with Time Windows (am-TSPTW). Two solution approaches are proposed: a sequential and an integrated approach. For both approaches, a single- and a two-phase deterministic annealing algorithm are presented. Results show that the proposed algorithms are able to find good quality solutions in a small amount of computation time. The integrated approach clearly outperforms the sequential one and the results confirm the advantage of using a two-phase algorithm for vehicle routing problems with hierarchical objectives. Finally, it is shown that the proposed integrated solution method improves previous results on a similar problem.

Challenges in Managing Empty Container Movements at Multiple Planning Levels

Empty container management deals with repositioning empty containers at minimum costs while fulfilling empty container demands. Due to imbalances in trade, some areas have a surplus of empty containers, while others have a shortage. Therefore, empty containers need to be repositioned globally to make sure that sufficient empty containers are available everywhere. Besides, empty containers need to be repositioned regionally between shippers, consignees, inland depots, terminals and ports in order to fulfil demand. In this paper, the focus is on the empty container management problem at a regional level. The problem is described in detail and opportunities for reducing empty container movements are discussed. Decisions to be taken at each planning level (strategic, tactical and operational) are described, and for each planning level, a detailed overview of planning models proposed in the literature is presented. Planning models considering decisions at several planning levels are discussed as well. Finally, interesting opportunities for future research are identified.

Collaborative Logistics from the Perspective of Road Transportation Companies

ABSTRACT To survive under the ever increasing competitive and global pressures to operate more efficiently, transportation companies are obliged to adopt a collaborative focus. Various types of cooperative supply chain relationships have been discussed in both professional and academic literature over the last decades. However, research on horizontal cooperation in logistics remains scarce and scattered across various research domains. Companies operating at the same level of the supply chain and performing comparable logistics functions may cooperate horizontally to increase their productivity, improve their service level and enhance their market position. In this paper, the focus is on the operational planning of horizontal cooperations between road transportation carriers. Following a scientific literature review, a distinction may be made between two operational approaches to horizontal logistics collaboration: order sharing and capacity sharing. For both research streams, a detailed overview of solution techniques proposed in literature is presented. Moreover, some interesting opportunities for future research are identified.

Optimal shipping routes and vessel size for intermodal barge transport with empty container repositioning

Despite the growing role of barge transportation in the hinterland access of major seaports in Northwestern Europe, service network design for intermodal barge transportation has received little research attention. In this paper, a decision support model for service network design in intermodal barge transportation is presented. The model determines optimal shipping routes for roundtrip services between a major seaport and several hinterland ports located along a single waterway. Vessel capacity and service frequency decisions may be analyzed by the model. A case study on the hinterland network of the port of Antwerp in Belgium is discussed. The decision support model is applied from the perspective of barge operators as well as from the perspective of shipping lines that offer door-to-door transport services. In the latter case, empty container repositioning decisions are taken into account. Numerical experiments are presented to indicate how the model may be used in practice.

A deterministic annealing algorithm for the pre- and end- haulage of intermodal container terminals

The drayage of containers in the service area of an intermodal barge terminal is modelled as a full truckload pickup and delivery problem with time windows (FTPDPTW). Initial solutions are generated with an insertion heuristic and improved with three local search operators. In a post-optimisation phase, the three search operators are integrated in a deterministic annealing (DA) framework. The mechanism of the heuristic procedures is demonstrated with a numerical example. A sensitivity analysis indicates that the DA algorithm is robust with respect to variations in threshold value and quality of the initial solution.

Integrating production scheduling and vehicle routing decisions at the operational decision level

A review of integrated production schedulingvehicle routing problems is provided.A production-distribution classification matrix is presented.Simple production and distribution environments are mostly considered.Integrated studies with more real-life characteristics are necessary.Fast and robust solution approaches for integrated studies need to developed. Production scheduling and vehicle routing are two well-studied problems in literature. Although these supply chain functions are interrelated, they are often solved sequentially. This uncoordinated approach can lead to suboptimal solutions. In the current competitive business environment, companies are searching for methods to save costs and improve their service level. Integrating production and distribution scheduling operations can be an approach to improve the overall performance. This paper focuses on integrated production-distribution operational level scheduling problems, which explicitly take into account vehicle routing decisions of the delivery process. Existing literature on integrated production scheduling and vehicle routing problems is reviewed and classified. Both the problem characteristics of mathematical models and the accompanying solution approaches are discussed to identify directions for further research.

Analysis of collaborative savings and cost allocation techniques for the cooperative carrier facility location problem

Transport companies may cooperate to increase their efficiency levels by, for example, the exchange of orders or vehicle capacity. In this paper a new approach to horizontal carrier collaboration is presented: the sharing of distribution centres (DCs) with partnering organisations. This problem can be classified as a cooperative facility location problem and formulated as an innovative mixed integer linear programme. To ensure cooperation sustainability, collaborative costs need to be allocated fairly to the different participants. To analyse the benefits of cooperative facility location and the effects of different cost allocation techniques, numerical experiments based on experimental design are carried out on a UK case study. Sharing DCs may lead to significant cost savings up to 21.6%. In contrast to the case of sharing orders or vehicles, there are diseconomies of scale in terms of the number of partners and more collaborative benefit can be expected when partners are unequal in size. Moreover, results indicate that horizontal collaboration at the level of DCs works well with a limited number of partners and can be based on intuitively appealing cost sharing techniques, which may reduce alliance complexity and enforce the strength of mutual partner relationships.