With ever‐increasing profit and competitive pressures, manufacturers are looking toward the logistics process as a source of competitive advantage. A number of methodologies and information systems have evolved as ‘tools’ to aid in the exploitation of the potential of logistics. Many manufacturers have benefited significantly from the application of logistics tools. For others, primarily …
This paper considers a scheduling problem motivated by transshipment terminals. Trucks delivering or picking up items at the terminal have to be sequenced. Here, inventory constraints must be considered, that is the current inventory level implied by initial inventory level, total pick up quantity up to this moment and total delivery quantity up to this moment must not be negative and must not …
Trucks are the most popular transport equipment in most mega-terminals, and scheduling them to minimize makespan is a challenge that this article addresses and attempts to resolve. Specifically, the problem of scheduling a fleet of trucks to perform a set of transportation jobs with sequence dependent processing times and different ready times is investigated, and the use of a genetic algorithm…
This article addresses the problem of scheduling container transfer operations in rail terminals. The overall problem can be divided into three smaller problems: constructing a dual-cycle delivery task by matching inbound and outbound containers; determining parking positions for trucks; and sequencing the delivery tasks for transfer by the rail crane. This article provides a mathematical model…
Increasing global trade has created the need for efficient container ports. The goal of the port is to move containers as quickly as possible and at the least possible cost. Goods that are delayed at the port are inevitably tardy when delivered to the customer, and thus sanctioned by late charges. Two key activities in the port are (i) unloading of containers from truck and then storage in the …
The problem of scheduling identical quay cranes moving along a common linear rail to handle containers for a ship is studied. The ship has a number of container-stacking compartments called bays, and only one quay crane can work on a bay at the same time. The objective of the scheduling problem is to find the work schedule for each quay crane which minimizes the ship’s stay time in port. Find…
The competitiveness of a container terminal is highly conditioned by the time that container vessels spend on it. The proper scheduling of the quay cranes can reduce this time and allows a container terminal to be more attractive to shipping companies. The goal of the Quay Crane Scheduling Problem (QCSP) is to minimize the handling time of the available quay cranes when performing the tasks of …
Railway container terminals, where gantry cranes are responsible for loading and unloading containers between freight trains and yards, are important hubs of hinterland logistics transportation. Terminal managers confront the challenge in improving the efficiency of their service. As the most expensive equipment in a terminal, the operational performance of gantry cranes is a crucial factor. In…
This paper models the seaport system with the objective of determining the optimal storage strategy for various container-handling schedules. A container location model (CLM) is developed, with an objective function designed to minimise the turn around time of container ships, and solved using genetic algorithm (GA). The results section presents an analyses of di!erent resource levels and a com…
This book contains six chapters that can be used on a self-contained basis as teaching cases in an undergraduate or specialist class setting on OR techniques applied to maritime container operations or for port operations. Instructors and students can look forward to an insightful presentation of the challenges facing the maritime supply chains and container port logistics service providers in …
This paper provides an integrated solution for two common processes in a container seaport: namely, the Berth Allocation Process (BAP) and the Crane Scheduling Process (QCSP). These are formulated through a Bi-Level Programming (BLP) approach, which is used to characterize the highly interrelated relationships between the two processes and simultaneously, identify an integrated solution for bot…
Logistics project scheduling problem in indeterminate environment is gaining more and more attention in recent years. One effective way to cope with indeterminacy is to develop robust baseline schedule. There exist many related researches on building robust schedule in stochastic environment, where historical data is sufficient to learn probability distributions. However, when historical data i…
The use of reverse logistics has received increased attention in the literature, although the role that reverse logistics capabilities plays in enabling firms to achieve cost savings has not been empirically examined. Reverse logistics capabilities can enable retailers to enhance their return policies and improve their overall cost position. This paper aims to address these issues.
Purpose – This paper seeks to present a decision-making model for manufacturers to maximize their profits in reverse logistics operations. Design/methodology/approach – A system dynamic model has been developed to complement with prior models and is validated using data collected from a computer company manufacturer handling returns with volumes transacted over a period of two years. F…
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework to manage product returns for reverse logistics by focusing on estimation of returns for select categories of products in the Indian context.
The Port Yard Storage Optimization Problem (PYSOP) originates from space allocation needs at the Port of Singapore. Space allocated to cargo is to be minimized in a designated yard within a time interval. The problem is akin to a packing problem in space and time, but where shapes packed and constraints are particular to port operations. Further, space requests can change within the time interv…
One of the most important operations in marine container terminals is quay crane scheduling. The quay crane scheduling problem (QCSP) involves scheduling groups of containers to be loaded and unloaded by each quay crane. It also requires addressing practical issues such as minimum spacing between quay cranes and precedence relationships between container groups. This study addresses the QCSP wi…
It is not surprising that proper implementation of reverse logistics systems can result in better customer loyalty and reduction in operational costs due to reuse or remanufacturing of some parts. This is particularly important for those industries with a short product life cycle, like the mobile phone industry. The major objective of this paper is to present the results of a pilot survey with …
The yard allocation problem (YAP) is a real-life resource allocation problem faced by the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA). As the problem is NP-hard, we propose an effective meta-heuristic procedure, named critical-shaking neighborhood search. Extensive experiments have shown that the new method can produce higher quality solutions in a much shorter time, as compared with other meta-heuris…
The yard truck scheduling and the storage allocation are two important decision problems affecting the efficiency of container terminal operations. This paper proposes a novel approach that integrates these two problems into a whole. The objective is to minimize the weighted sum of total delay of requests and the total travel time of yard trucks. Due to the intractability of the proposed proble…
This paper presents a decision support system named the Tanker Operations Planning System (TOPS). It is a user-friendly software with an advanced routing and scheduling algorithm to automate and aid the operational decision making process. It considers the key operations constraints faced by the tanker owners. The advanced routing and scheduling algorithm embedded in the decision engine uses he…
A dry bulk terminal acts as a multi-modal interface for transhipping iron ores. Stacker reclaimers are the dedicated equipments in storage yard for iron ore handling. Both unloading and loading processes are supported by stackerreclaimers in most cases. The operation efficiency of dry terminals heavily depends on the productivity of stackerreclaimers. This paper discusses the stacker-reclaimer …
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the context affects successful use of advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems in sales and operations planning (S&OP) processes, and how individual, technological, and organizational (ITO) dimensions affect this procedure .
The paper aims to illustrate the business process of reverse logistics by focusing on studying the business activities of the distribution center of a major department store.
The purpose of this paper is to explore what potential benefits may be achieved by using advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems in the sales and operations planning (S&OP) process.
This paper describes the current business conditions and the four key factors that need to be integrated in order to improve the supply chain. The paper discusses how enterprise resource planning (ERP) is increasingly being used as a technology enabler for supply chain management and problems associated with its implementation.
Concerns the logistics system of the Taiwan power company, Taipower, and the problem it faces of coal allocation and fleet deployment of dedicated coal carriers. The coal allocation problem can be viewed as a multi‐index transportation problem requiring the formulation of a coal allocation model. Owing to the high uncertainty of shipping operations, formulates a dynamic fleet assignment mod…
Explains that globalization and new manufacturing technologies have been generating a new kind of product competition based on the ability of the producer to offer the most suitable product for each individual market. In this new environment, the relationship between short‐term logistical decisions taken within manufacturing and business performance becomes increasingly strong. This relatio…
Maintaining efficiency in despatching goods from a depot to geographically dispersed customers may require management at the depot to adjust its delivery routes daily if these customers’ demands fluctuate from day to day. One type of adjustment is to give drivers daily “skip lists” instructing them not to visit customers who have indicated that they do not need delivery on the day in qu…
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a methodological approach to develop customized products which offer true customer value and achieve superior competitive advantage.
Production scheduling is being focused on increasingly as a critical company activity. Consequently, it is becoming commonplace to hear of finite capacity scheduling systems being linked to existing MRP‐type systems, to provide a more detailed and flexible scheduling mechanism. But how easy is it to accomplish? Focuses on a user′s (a well‐known pharmaceutical company) journey to such a …
Scheduling systems can be developed to model all the significant processes in a business and desktop computers have the power to generate integrated schedules designed to realize optimized throughput. However, the step from design and development to installation and operation introduces the power of reality that will remorselessly reveal both strengths and weaknesses in the software or in the c…
In this paper, the authors propose the application of an intelligent engine to develop a set of computational schedules for the maintenance of vehicles to cover all scheduled flights. The aim of the paper is to maximize the utilization of ground support vehicles and enhance the logistics of aircraft maintenance activities.
The impact of schedule stability on supplier responsiveness is investigated by comparing schedule and calloff quantities for two automotive assemblers who both use the same supplier. Components for the two assemblers are manufactured by the supplier in cells which are focused by customer. The world class assembler (a Japanese transplant) operated a stable, long‐term schedule policy whereas th…