Enriching the tactical network design of express service carriers with fleet scheduling characteristics

Abstract

Express service carriers provide time-guaranteed deliveries of parcels via a network consisting of nodes and hubs. In this, nodes take care of the collection and delivery of parcels, and hubs have the function to consolidate parcels in between the nodes. The tactical network design problem assigns nodes to hubs, determines arcs between hubs, and routes parcels through the network. Afterwards, fleet scheduling creates a schedule for vehicles operated in the network. The strong relation between flow routing and fleet scheduling makes it difficult to optimise the Flex Serv Manuf J (2010) 22:3-35 DOI 10.1007 network cost. Due to this complexity, fleet scheduling and network design are usually decoupled. We propose a new tactical network design model that is able to include fleet scheduling characteristics (like vehicle capacities, vehicle balancing, and drivers' legislations) in the network design. The model is tested on benchmark data based on instances from an express provider, resulting in significant cost reductions. 123

Supply Chain–Wide Optimization at TNT Express

“…Crainic (2000) provides an overview of solution methods to solve this problem. At TNT Express, we implemented a mixed-integer programming formulation as proposed in Meuffels et al (2010b), where the number of paths to be generated is restricted. The movement heuristic module generates movements based on the paths of the packages using the heuristic that Meuffels et al (2010b) suggest.…”

“…At TNT Express, we implemented a mixed-integer programming formulation as proposed in Meuffels et al (2010b), where the number of paths to be generated is restricted. The movement heuristic module generates movements based on the paths of the packages using the heuristic that Meuffels et al (2010b) suggest. In the heuristic, any of the following three rules are used to schedule a movement: (1) when all packages are available at the departure location, (2) when a full vehicle movement can be created, or (3) because of the time restrictions.…”