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Project

Modeling freight consolidation from the perspective of transportation carriers (R-4096)

In order to survive the ever increasing pressure to operate more efficiently, transportation companies are obliged to adopt a collaborative, instead of an internal, focus. 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. The aim of my doctoral research is to study collaborative logistics from the perspective of carriers and this through an extensive study of the operational planning of horizontal carrier cooperation. In a first phase the joint route planning of multiple carriers is formulated as a static and a dynamic vehicle routing problem, in line with cooperation through order sharing. For this purpose appropriate heuristic approaches will also be developed to generate good quality solutions in a short time frame. The second phase of my research focuses on the development of techniques to optimally share capacity as an alternative to sharing orders in horizontal carrier cooperations. Finally, in a third phase, attention will be focused on the sharing of costs and benefits in the carrier collaboration. Allocation mechanisms based on concepts of game theory are created to generate individually and collectively desirable solutions necessary to establish a sustainable cooperation project.
Date:1 Oct 2012 →  30 Sep 2014
Keywords:Freight transport
Disciplines:Economics and business