Freight consolidation in intermodal networks with reloads

W. J. A. Heeswijk (), M. R. K. Mes, J. M. J. Schutten and W. H. M. Zijm
Additional contact information
W. J. A. Heeswijk: University of Twente
M. R. K. Mes: University of Twente
J. M. J. Schutten: University of Twente
W. H. M. Zijm: University of Twente

Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, 2018, vol. 30, issue 3, No 5, 452-485

Abstract: Abstract Intermodal networks offer much flexibility in transport planning, and have the potential to efficiently consolidate goods, even if these goods have distinct pickup locations and destinations. Typically, there is an abundant amount of feasible routes and consolidation opportunities, which makes it challenging to quickly identify good solutions. We propose a planning algorithm for dynamic pickup- and delivery problems in intermodal networks, where freight is consolidated by means of reloads to reduce both costs and emissions. Based on an enumerative arc-expansion procedure, a large number of intermodal routes is generated for each order, of which we store the k best. We subsequently evaluate consolidation opportunities for the k best routes by applying a decision tree structure, taking into account reload operations, timetables, and synchronization of departure windows. Compared to direct road transport, numerical experiments on various virtual problem instances show an average cost saving of 34 %, and an average reduction in $$CO_2$$ C O 2 emissions of 30 %. Furthermore, we test our algorithm on a real-life case of a leading logistics service provider based in the Netherlands, which yields significant benefits as well, both in terms of costs and environmental impact.

Keywords: Intermodal networks; Consolidation; Emission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10696-016-9259-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:flsman:v:30:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s10696-016-9259-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/10696

DOI: 10.1007/s10696-016-9259-1

Access Statistics for this article

Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal is currently edited by Hans Günther

More articles in Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().