In this Chapter, we imagine a decision maker (or a group of experts) trying to establish or examine fair procedures to combine opinions about alternatives related to different points of view.

Multiple criteria decision making

The vehicle routing problem

We consider heuristic algorithms for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem. Starting with a literature survey, we summarize the basic components of heuristic approaches. We briefly describe so-called X -pass methods which are based on priority rules as well as metaheuristic algorithms. Subsequently, we present the results of our in-depth computational study. Here, we evaluate the performance of several state-of-the-art heuristics from the literature on the basis of a standard set of test instances and point out to the most promising procedures. Moreover, we analyze the behavior of the heuristics with respect to their components such as priority rules and metaheuristic strategy. Finally, we examine the impact of problem characteristics such as project size and resource scarceness on the performance.

Experimental evaluation of state-of-the-art heuristics for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem

Cross-docking is a logistics strategy in which freight is unloaded from inbound vehicles and (almost) directly loaded into outbound vehicles, with little or no storage in between. This paper presents an overview of the cross-docking concept. Guidelines for the successful use and implementation of cross-docking are discussed and several characteristics are described that can be used to distinguish between different cross-dock types. In addition, this paper presents an extensive review of the existing literature about cross-docking. The discussed papers are classified based on the problem type that is tackled (ranging from more strategic or tactical to more operational problems). Based on this review, several opportunities to improve and extend the current research are indicated.

/pdf/cross-docking-state-of-the-art-bftl5ghpi9.pdf

Cross-docking: State of the art

At cross docking terminals incoming deliveries of inbound trucks are unloaded, sorted, moved across the dock and finally loaded onto outbound trucks, which immediately leave the terminal towards their next destination in the distribution chain. Accordingly, a cross dock is a consolidation point in a distribution network, where multiple smaller shipments can be merged to full truck loads in order to realize economies in transportation. In this context, the truck scheduling problem, which decides on the succession of truck processing at the dock doors, is especially important to ensure a rapid turnover and on-time deliveries. Due to its high real-world significance, several truck scheduling procedures have been introduced during recent years, which all treat specific cross dock settings. In order to structure and promote scientific progress, this paper introduces a classification of deterministic truck scheduling. With the help of this classification, existing literature is reviewed and future research needs are identified. Moreover, we represent a yet unexplored class of truck scheduling problems which is highly relevant in real-world distribution networks.

/pdf/cross-dock-scheduling-classification-literature-review-and-47bhci5mbp.pdf

Cross Dock Scheduling: Classification, Literature Review and Research Agenda

Truck dock assignment problem with operational time constraint within crossdocks

City University of Hong Kong/6341009
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)/70802052 70971111
National Ministry of Education of China/07JC630047

Crossdocking distribution networks with setup cost and time window constraint

In this paper, we study a comprehensive model that addresses fleet deployment, speed optimization, and cargo allocation jointly, so as to maximize total profits at the strategic level. Our model considers a general fuel consumption function that depends on speed and load. To overcome intractability caused by nonlinear terms, we further separate fuel cost into two terms associated with ship speed and load to obtain a mixed integer linear programming formulation for approximation. Based on column generation techniques, we develop an iterative search algorithm that adaptively reorganizes the approximated formulation. We conduct extensive experiments using generated data sets from actual liner shipping services in different regions of the world to show the effectiveness of our approach as well as the significant impact of speed-load factors on fuel consumptions. Managerial insights are obtained by testing the model under different scenarios, which may greatly assist decision makers in the liner shipping industry.

Joint Planning of Fleet Deployment, Speed Optimization, and Cargo Allocation for Liner Shipping

The single container loading problem with axle weight constraints

In this paper, we consider the over-constrained truck dock assignment problem with time windows and capacity constraint in transshipment network through crossdocks where the number of trucks exceeds the number of docks available, the capacity of the crossdock is limited, and where the objective is to minimize the total shipping distances. The problem is first formulated as an Integer Programming (IP) model, and then we propose a Tabu Search (TS) and a Genetic algorithms (GA) that utilize the IP constraints. Computational results are provided, showing that the heuristics perform better than the CPLEX Solver in both small-scale and large-scale test sets. Therefore, we conclude that the heuristic search approaches are efficient for the truck dock assignment problem.

Hong Ma

Papers

Truck dock assignment problem with operational time constraint within crossdocks

Crossdocking distribution networks with setup cost and time window constraint

Joint Planning of Fleet Deployment, Speed Optimization, and Cargo Allocation for Liner Shipping

The single container loading problem with axle weight constraints

Truck Dock Assignment Problem with Time Windows and Capacity Constraint in Transshipment Network Through Crossdocks