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The freight consolidation and containerization problem

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  • Qin, Hu
  • Zhang, Zizhen
  • Qi, Zhuxuan
  • Lim, Andrew

Abstract

In today’s global free market, third-party logistics providers (3PLs) are becoming increasingly important. This paper studies a problem faced by a 3PL operating a warehouse in Shanghai, China, under contract with a major manufacturer of children’s clothing based in the United States. At the warehouse, the 3PL receives textile parcel shipments from the suppliers located in China; each shipment is destined for different retail stores located across the United Sates. These shipments must be consolidated and loaded into containers of varying sizes and costs, and then sent along shipping routes to different destination ports. An express company, such as UPS and FedEx, unloads the shipments from the containers at the destination ports and distributes them to their corresponding stores or retailers by parcel delivery. The objective is to find an allocation that minimizes the total container transportation and parcel delivery costs. We formulate the problem into an integer programming model, and also propose a memetic algorithm approach to solve the problem practically. A demonstration of a good solution to this problem was a decisive factor in the awarding of the contract to the 3PL in question.

Suggested Citation

  • Qin, Hu & Zhang, Zizhen & Qi, Zhuxuan & Lim, Andrew, 2014. "The freight consolidation and containerization problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 234(1), pages 37-48.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:234:y:2014:i:1:p:37-48
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2013.09.015
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    2. Hanghang Zhu & Zhi Pei, 2023. "Two-Stage Robust Liner Container Booking with Uncertain Customer Demand," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-24, April.
    3. Feng, Xuehao & Song, Rui & Yin, Wenwei & Yin, Xiaowei & Zhang, Ruiyou, 2023. "Multimodal transportation network with cargo containerization technology: Advantages and challenges," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 128-143.
    4. Amin Abbasi-Pooya & Michael T. Lash, 2024. "The third party logistics provider freight management problem: a framework and deep reinforcement learning approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 339(1), pages 965-1024, August.
    5. Ekici, Ali, 2023. "A large neighborhood search algorithm and lower bounds for the variable-Sized bin packing problem with conflicts," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 308(3), pages 1007-1020.
    6. Ponce, Diego & Contreras, Ivan & Laporte, Gilbert, 2020. "E-commerce shipping through a third-party supply chain," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).

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