Truck Scheduling in the Postal Service Industry

Nils Boysen (), Stefan Fedtke () and Felix Weidinger ()
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Nils Boysen: Friedrich–Schiller–Universität Jena, Lehrstuhl für Operations Management, 07743 Jena, Germany
Stefan Fedtke: Friedrich–Schiller–Universität Jena, Lehrstuhl für Operations Management, 07743 Jena, Germany
Felix Weidinger: Friedrich–Schiller–Universität Jena, Lehrstuhl für Operations Management, 07743 Jena, Germany

Transportation Science, 2017, vol. 51, issue 2, 723-736

Abstract: The distribution networks of the postal service industry are organized according to the hub-and-spoke paradigm, so that parcel distribution centers play a crucial role to consolidate the parcel flows to full truckloads. In these terminals, inbound trucks are unloaded at gates, shipments are identified, sorted by the central sortation conveyor system, and loaded into outbound trailers, in which they are moved toward their next destination. In this context, the scheduling of inbound trucks, which assigns a gate and a processing interval to each truck, is an essential operational decision problem. We formalize the resulting optimization problem and provide suited solution procedures. Furthermore, we test the impact of truck scheduling on the sortation performance of the central conveyor system with the help of a comprehensive terminal simulation.

Keywords: postal service industry; hub terminals; truck scheduling; parcel sortation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ortrsc:v:51:y:2017:i:2:p:723-736

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