A Flexible Logistics Distribution Hub Model considering Cost Weighted Time

Abstract

The delivery time of order has become an important fact for customers to evaluate logistics services. Due to the diverse and large quantities of orders in the background of electronic commerce, how to improve the flexibility of distribution hub and reduce the waiting time of customers becomes one of the most challenging questions for logistics companies. With this in mind, this paper proposes a new method of flexibility assessment in distribution hub by introducing cost weighted time (CWT). The advantages of supply hub operation mode in delivery flexibility are verified by the approach: the mode has pooling effects and uniform distribution characteristics; these traits can reduce overlapping delivery time to improve the flexibility in the case of two suppliers. Numerical examples show that the supply hub operation mode is more flexible than decentralized distribution operation mode in multidelivery cycles.

Innovation Mode and Optimization Strategy of B2C E-Commerce Logistics Distribution under Big Data

“…In recent years, a lot of researchers proposed logistics distribution models and methods for B2C e-commerce. Ran et al [28] proposed a flexibility assessment method by adding cost weighted time. Jia [29] analyzed the distribution route method of traditional B2C model.…”