Import-export freight organization and optimization in the dry-port-based cross-border logistics network under the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

The weakness and lack of import and export logistics functions in inland regions creates a bottleneck that restricts the development of foreign economies and trade. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, the development of foreign trade demand in inland regions is stimulating the demand for inland cross-border logistics network functions. The role of dry ports in constructing cross-border logistics networks has attracted the attention of inland governments. The new dry-port-based cross-border logistics networks in Chinese inland regions began to expand rapidly, but due to the lack of operational planning and coordination, the current network efficiency is not yet well regarded. This paper focused on this new cross-border logistics network, which connects the maritime logistics network with the inland cross-border logistics network through dry ports, and studied the organizational optimization problem of inland import and export goods in different network scenarios through the application of a bi-objective mixed integer programming model using the adaptive-weight Genetic Algorithm (awGA) as a solution method. Real experiments showed the effectiveness of the method proposed by this paper. It is a new but very necessary research perspective that provides recommendations for the improvement and efficiency of inland cross-border logistics functions.