Should I Stay or Should I Go? Assessing Intermodal and Synchromodal Resilience from a Decentralized Perspective

Tomas Ambra, An Caris and Cathy Macharis
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Tomas Ambra: MOBI Research Centre, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
An Caris: Logistics Research Group, Hasselt University, Agoralaan, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
Cathy Macharis: MOBI Research Centre, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-24

Abstract: Synchromodal transport incorporates real-time events in a dynamic manner in order to facilitate the most suitable selection of modes, routes and handling points. Up until now, current assessments rely on analytical models. Most of these models average distances for barges and trains via route mapping platforms that provide realistic distances for road only. To reflect on real-world developments more accurately, new thinking and modelling approaches are necessary to bridge academic models with physical transport processes. This paper introduces a computational model which computes movements of agents in geographically referenced space. The model captures stochastic parallel processes for each mode, and simulates decentralized delivery performance of each order in terms of cost, time and emissions at an operational level. Furthermore, we study the routing of individual orders and their responsiveness to disruptions. Computational experiments are performed within a case study which concerns imports of retail goods by unimodal truck transport from France to Belgium. Our findings show that dynamic synchromodal solutions cope with disturbances better, but unnecessary deviations and pro-activeness can also lead to negative effects when compared to static intermodal solutions

Keywords: synchromodal transport; intermodal transport; geographic information systems; agent-based modelling; simulation; disruption; resilience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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