Multimodal Transport Path Selection of Cold Chain Logistics Based on Improved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

Abstract

Multimodal transport is a process of effectively moving cargoes in a single container by combining land transport (road or rail) and maritime or river transport (vessel or barge) in one transport chain. However, cold chain logistics (CCL), as a special while major kind of cargo delivery, has not been incorporated with this beneficial combination. In order to realize efficient delivery of cold chain foods (CCF), in this study, the characteristics of multimodal and CCL are analyzed and integrated to select the optimal logistics path. In establishing the path-selection model, customer satisfaction is introduced, which is reflected by arrival punctuality and the quality of CCF. An improved particle swarm optimization algorithm (IPSO) is introduced to address the model and is proven to retain a fast convergence rate and achieve outstanding solving accuracy through the experimental study. Sensitivity analysis is also conducted to present the impact of railway speed and cost variation on path selection. Results show that compared with highway transport, railway transport is preferable to the medium and long distance. The influence of railway speed improvement is more striking than cost reduction in motivating decision makers to choose railway transport mode in logistics operations.

Optimum Route and Transport Mode Selection of Multimodal Transport with Time Window under Uncertain Conditions

“…The average speed, unit transportation cost, and unit transportation carbon emission of various transportation modes are shown in Table 3. The data are obtained from studies in the literature [14,43,44] and others. The transport time obeys a normal distribution of…”

“…Otherwise, it is regarded as a failure. However, the hard time window may cause the problem to be difficult to solve, or the optimal solution cannot be found [14], so it is more appropriate to establish a soft time window. In this case, there is an inventory cost for early arrival and a penalty cost for late arrival.…”

Optimization of multimodal transportation path selection under low-carbon and time-schedule situation

“…In 2022, Wong et al describe the concept and advantages of multimodal transport in their paper, according to the statement, multimodal transport is connecting various transportation modes into a whole transport process based on the same transport unit, and multimodal transport will save delivery time and the total cost [1]. Zheng et al used the knowledge of mathematics, linear planning method, and use of algorithms to optimize the multimodal transport path [2]. The linear planning method is broadly used in optimizing multimodal transport roads that pursue the minimization of the total cost.…”

“…And this paper introduced a transit cost to achieve the facticity of the transit process in multi-modal transport [5]. In addition, since time is also an important factor in transport problems, Jiang used a waiting cost to restrict the time that cargo is detained in the transit station or port [2], and other studies also used the method of the fulfillment of customers to improve the time efficiency, in Song's paper, a concept of time penalty cost was also introduced to improve the timer efficiency, in this method a coefficient was used, and the whole cargo was viewed as an entirety when calculating this cost [6].…”

Exploring the Evolution of the Food Chain under Environmental Pollution with Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Simulation

“…Ref. [18] analyzed the attributes of multimodal transport and cold chain distribution, focusing on optimizing logistics routes to enhance the efficiency of cold chain food (CCF) distribution. The authors' routing model considered customer satisfaction by considering factors such as the punctuality of deliveries and the quality of CCF.…”