Pallet Pool Research Articles

Model and algorithm for the location-inventory problem in pallet pooling systems

Model and algorithm for the location-inventory problem in pallet pooling systems

ESG 경제성 실증 연구: 수출용 Returnable Pallet Pooling 시스템 사례연구

This paper analyzes a case study on returnable pallet pooling systems based on the ESG Economic Analysis. ESG management is a key direction in the value-based services for sustainable business as well as to improve competitiveness. The success of the pallet pooling system as a case study for value-based services in sustainable business and ESGs is the most important factor of competitiveness in the export and logistics industry. As ESG is a mega trend in the business world, the export of returnable pallet pooling systems in ESG should provide us with useful insights into valued-based services for sustainable businesses and their environments. The successful case study of company “A”, which proved its economic feasibility by introducing a returnable pallet pooling system that can be reused, is empirically analysed. In this paper, Section II analyzes the literature reviews of the export returnable pallet pooling system. While Section III examines ESG analysis of the export returnable pallet pooling system. Lastly, Section IV analyzes the successful case study of the corporation “A”. In closing, conclusions about the paper are provided in Section V.

Empty Pallet Allocation Optimization in Shipbuilding Using a Pallet Pool System

Pallets are an important transportation tool in modern shipbuilding. With shipbuilding now trending towards larger ships, empty pallet allocation needs to meet the demands of having low costs and being sustainable for green shipbuilding. Thus, with the development of a pallet pool system, a new shipbuilding empty pallet pool allocation (SEPPA) pattern is proposed in this study. An integrated framework is developed that combines a mathematical planning model for a SEPPA pattern with a green allocation strategy. For the base case, the operation costs of the traditional shipbuilding empty pallet allocation (TSEPA) pattern and the SEPPA pattern are solved by applying an improved genetic algorithm for different pallet supply and demand situations. The results show that the SEPPA pattern is more cost-efficient than the TSEPA pattern. With increasing imbalances between supply and demand, the operation costs of the SEPPA pattern are lower than that of the TSEPA pattern. In general, the distribution of supply and demand will affect operation costs. Reasonable safety inventory intervals can reduce the operation costs of empty pallet allocation. This research may support decision making by shipbuilding pallet managers as they seek to minimize the costs of their pallet operations, by adopting practices and adapting strategies for their specific conditions.

An End-to-End Bidirectional Authentication System for Pallet Pooling Management Through Blockchain Internet of Things (BIoT)

Pallet pooling is regarded as a sustainable and cost-effective measure for the industry, but challenging to advocate due to weak data and pallet authentication.In order to establish trust between end-users and pallet pooling services, we propose an end-to-end, bidirectional authentication system for transmitted data and pallets based on blockchain and Internet-of-things (IoT) technologies. In addition, secure data authentication fosters the pallet authenticity in the whole supply chain network, which is achieved by considering the tag, location, and object-specific features. To evaluate the object-specific features, the scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) approach is adopted to match key-points and descriptors between two pallet images. According to the case study, it is found that the proposed system provides a low bandwidth blocking rate and a high probability of restoring complete data payloads. Consequently, positive influences on end-user satisfaction, quality of service, operational errors, and pallet traceability are achieved through the deployment of the proposed system.

Analysis of an evolutionary game of pallet pooling with participation of third-party platform.

Pallet pooling has been widely recognized as an important part of the green supply chain. The development of pallet pooling is an essential component for the transformation and upgrade of the logistics industry in China. Pallet pooling can, however, lead to a conflict over potential benefits among the players. One of the main problems of pallet pooling in China is the reasonable benefit allocation mechanism has not been formed. The pallet pooling system (PPS) with participation of the third-party platform (PPSWPTPP) is one of the pilot modes of pallet pooling in China. Based on evolutionary game theory and a penalty mechanism for breach of contract, this paper constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model of the PPSWPTPP. Eight propositions are set in two basic scenarios regarding whether pallet pooling is adapted to the logistics market to study the stability and dynamic evolution process of the players in the PPSWPTPP. Theoretical and numerical simulation results indicate that these will affect the smooth development of the PPS. The suitable setting of penalties and bonuses, the precise estimation of the pooling benefits, the intention intensity of the players to the pallet pooling, and whether to adapt to the logistics market demand are explored.

A Blockchain-IoT Platform for the Smart Pallet Pooling Management.

Pallet management as a backbone of logistics and supply chain activities is essential to supply chain parties, while a number of regulations, standards and operational constraints are considered in daily operations. In recent years, pallet pooling has been unconventionally advocated to manage pallets in a closed-loop system to enhance the sustainability and operational effectiveness, but pitfalls in terms of service reliability, quality compliance and pallet limitation when using a single service provider may occur. Therefore, this study incorporates a decentralisation mechanism into the pallet management to formulate a technological eco-system for pallet pooling, namely Pallet as a Service (PalletaaS), raised by the foundation of consortium blockchain and Internet of things (IoT). Consortium blockchain is regarded as the blockchain 3.0 to facilitate more industrial applications, except cryptocurrency, and the synergy of integrating a consortium blockchain and IoT is thus investigated. The corresponding layered architecture is proposed to structure the system deployment in the industry, in which the location-inventory-routing problem for pallet pooling is formulated. To demonstrate the values of this study, a case analysis to illustrate the human–computer interaction and pallet pooling operations is conducted. Overall, this study standardises the decentralised pallet management in the closed-loop mechanism, resulting in a constructive impact to sustainable development in the logistics industry.

LCA기법을 이용한 플라스틱 파렛트 풀링시스템에 대한 환경성 평가

The plastic pallet is a resource-circulating product that minimizes the production of new products through a closed-loop circulation system as a returnable logistics transport tool that recovers plastic pallets that have been used once in the logistics industry and uses them repeatedly through a pooling system. In this study, the environmental impacts of repetition and reuse of plastic pallet evaluated using LCA. And the results were used to compare with single used plastic pallet. The system boundary was set to raw material extraction stage, product manufacturing stage, use(distribution) stage, cleaning stage, and disposal and recycling stage. And use(distribution) stage was analyzed by subdividing into production plants, users, destinations, collection centers, and washing centers. As a result of the analysis of environmental improvement effects, the plastic pallet pooling system showed an average decrease of 73.3% based on the six impact categories compared to single use, and the impact category of resource depletion among the impact categories decreased by 91.5%, showing the greatest effect, and 72.8% environmental improvement effect on global warming.

Environmental Impacts of Reusable Transport Items: A Case Study of Pallet Pooling in a Retailer Supply Chain

Manufacturing, storage, and transportation processes are typically facilitated by pallets, containers, and other reusable transport items (RTIs) designed to guarantee many cycles along a lifespan of several years. As a consequence, both supply and reverse transportation of RTIs need to be managed to avoid stockout along the supply chain and the unsustainable production of new tools from virgin materials. This paper focuses on the business of pallet management by analyzing the transport operations of a pallet pooling network serving a large-scale nationwide retailer. The pooler is responsible for supplying, collecting, and refurbishing pallets. The combination of the pooler’s management strategies with different retailer network configurations results in different pooling scenarios, which are assessed and compared in this paper through a what-if analysis. The logistical and environmental impacts generated by the pallet distribution activities are quantified per each scenario through a tailored software incorporating Geographic Information System (GIS) and routing functionalities. Findings from this analysis suggest how to reduce vehicle distance traveled (vehicles-km) by 65% and pollutant emissions by 60% by combining network infrastructures and pooling management strategies—identifying an empirical best practice for managers of pallet businesses.

Review of pallet pooling studies

Abstract Development of sharing economy has brought new opportunities to the development of green logistics. Pallet pooling is a typical type of sharing economy. It has been recently promoted in almost every country in the world. Researchers have reached a common agreement that establishing an effective pallet pool is of great importance to the pallets use efficiency. It is also believed that the implementation of pallet pool will substantially contribute to the economic and social development. Detailed analysis of pallet pooling such as benefit analysis, mode choose, pallet allocation model & algorithm, quality control, etc. are discussed in this paper. Based on literature review, several important problems are listed for future study. These problems are information management, supply chain management, rental pricing, pallets tracking and allocation, quality control, sustainable development (carbon emissions), and “internet plus pallet pooling”. Some suggestions on China’s pallet pooling development are proposed as well.

Optimization Model and Algorithm of Empty Pallets Dispatching under the Time-Space Network of Express Shipment

Relying on the express freight network, the dispatching of empty pallets based on the pallet pool mode is studied to reuse pallets with the minimum transport cost, enhance the pallet utilization rate, reduce the waste of resources, and save the cost of logistics. Considering the influence of transport efficiency for different modes in transportation process, differences of transportation cost, carbon emissions, and transportation timeliness of demand points required, an optimization model is constructed. The objective of the model is to minimize the total cost including transportation cost, inventory cost, lease cost, and loss cost. According to the structural characteristics of the model, genetic algorithm and improved cloud clonal selection operation is used to solve the model. Finally, the validity and rationality of the optimization model are verified by a case study. The result shows that the total dispatching cost of considering time requirement is 1.8 times the cost without considering the time requirement, respectively, both less than the total cost of pallets leasing. Moreover, when there are 3 supply points and 2 demand points and the number of iterations is 100, after the algorithms are run for 30 times, the worst values are 9305 and 8317 for genetic algorithm and the improved cloud clonal selection operation, respectively. Therefore, the efficiency of the improved cloud clonal selection operation is higher than genetic algorithm.

An optimization model for the operations of a pallet pool with both radio-frequency identification–tagged pallets and non-tagged pallets

In a pallet pool, pallets would be delivered through a supply chain. The operation procedure that consists of at least five operation processes as distribution, reposition, recycling, purchase (or rent), and maintenance is quite complex. These pallets are likely to be damaged, lost, destroyed, and so on. So, it is necessary to monitor the pallets using radio-frequency identification technology. However, there is no literature on the management of a pallet pool with both radio-frequency identification–tagged pallets and non-tagged pallets being put into consideration. In our research, an optimization model is presented to manage such a pallet pool. The objective of the optimization model is to minimize the total operation cost of a pallet pool including distribution cost, reposition cost, recycling cost, purchase or rent cost, loss cost, maintenance cost, loading and unloading cost, storage cost, and punishment cost. A particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed in Microsoft Visual Basic. Our numerical example shows that the optimization model and particle swarm optimization algorithm are effective. It is proved that the model and algorithm also can be used to measure whether the investment of a radio-frequency identification system is valuable or not. We proposed some suggestions for the pallet pools management.

The Study of Pallet Pooling Information Platform Based on Cloud Computing

Effective implementation of pallet pooling system needs a strong information platform to support. Through the analysis of existing pallet pooling information platform (PPIP), the paper pointed out that the existing studies of PPIP are mainly based on traditional IT infrastructures and technologies which have software, hardware, resource utilization, and process restrictions. Because of the advantages of cloud computing technology like strong computing power, high flexibility, and low cost which meet the requirements of the PPIP well, this paper gave a PPIP architecture of two parts based on cloud computing: the users client and the cloud services. The cloud services include three layers, which are IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. The method of how to deploy PPIP based on cloud computing is proposed finally.

Investigating the environmental and economic impact of loading conditions and repositioning strategies for pallet pooling providers

Pallets are fundamental assets critical to worldwide supply chain logistics. This research develops models for closed-loop pallet pooling providers to understand the environmental and economic impact of customer characteristics and design options. First, an analytical model is developed to quantify the effects of repair facility location and pallet service conditions on a pallet pooling system's economic and environmental performance. Next, a simulation model is developed to investigate two common operational policies, crossdocking and take-back, and to quantify the impact of pallet handling and loading conditions and customer network structures on several key performance indicators. Results indicate that pallet handling and loading conditions are the most important factors determining the cost and carbon equivalent emission of a pallet pooling operation. Better pallet handling and appropriate loading increase the percentage of pallets that can be repositioned with little or no repair. This increases the radius within which a closed-loop pallet pooling system is feasible. Under random handling/loading conditions and distances, a crossdocking approach satisfies demand with 28% fewer pallets than a take-back policy. This is due to a quicker reissue time under a crossdocking approach. However, associated costs and emissions of the two policies are nearly identical due to the increased transportation costs associated with crossdocking. The models and insights proposed in this work can help support decision making by pallet pooling providers to determine operational regions and customer selection, among other network design trade-offs.

Optimization of Empty Pallets Dispatching Based on Different Transportation Modes

Abstract In the pallet pool system, the differentiation of palletized freight volumes in different regions and seasonal transport of certain goods lead to the imbalance of pallets distribution among regions. It is necessary to improve the utilization of pallets through dispatching. The paper analyzes the factors which affect empty pallets dispatching, it includes carbon emission, transportation time and pallet type based on the pallet pool mode of enterprise alliance. On this basis, the optimization model is established with the goal of minimum total dispatching cost. Then, according to the different influences of railway and highway in transportation cost, the dispatching scheme is analyzed and the transportation mode of empty pallets dispatching is determined. Considering the characteristics of model, Cplex is used to solve it. Finally, a case is used to verify the feasibility and superiority of reasonable empty pallets dispatching in different transportation modes, and the transport characteristics of two transportation modes are analyzed. Moreover, the costs of pallets leasing and dispatching are compared.

An optimization model for multi-type pallet allocation over a pallet pool

Pallets are widely used around the world. Pallet pooling, as a useful management method of pallets, has become more and more popular. It is very important to allocate pallets over a pallet pool efficiently. However, there is very little literature on the pallet allocation problem as to our knowledge. This article addresses a pallet allocation problem where some uncertain parameters can be estimated through historical data, while some others cannot be. To address this problem, with the method of stochastic chance constrained programming and scenario planning, we propose an optimization model in which sustainable factors and customer priority factors are taken into account. The sustainable factors are used to measure the sustainable development costs of pallets. The customer priority factors are used to measure the customers’ rating. It is proved by experimental tests that the model can help pallet pool managers make more effective pallet allocation schemes against uncertainty. It is also suggested by the r...

Cost-effective pallet management strategies

The existing industry strategies for managing pallets, (single-use expendable pallets, buy/sell programs, and leased pallet pooling programs), are analyzed and compared using push and pull inventory control policies. A two-stage integrated framework is developed that combines cost relationship models with data gathered in industry with multi-echelon inventory performance measures. For the base case, the single-use expendable pallet approach presents the least cost of all strategies, but the leased pallet pooling programs outperform the buy/sell programs in terms of total cost. The intervals where each strategy is most attractive are shown with respect to pallet cost, salvage cost, dwell fees, effective issue fees, retention rates, and transportation costs.

Deterministic and multi-scenario models for pallet allocation over a pallet pool in a city joint distribution system

Pallet pooling is a basis for the operation of a city joint distribution system. Pallet allocation is a key problem for the success of a pallet pool. This article considers a multi-station, multi-period, and multi-type pallet allocation problem over a pallet pool in a city joint distribution system. First of all, we develop a deterministic model to optimally allocate pallets when managers have perfect knowledge of the information that will be available. By case studies, we show that this model can help managers to make scientific decisions. The influence of transportation capacity on decisions is shown by numerical simulation. And we propose managers should use both demand forecasting and leasing and renting tactics to minimization allocation cost. Then, we propose a multi-scenario model to optimally allocate pallets when some uncertain parameters cannot be estimated through historical data. The application of this multi-scenario model is also illustrated.

Optimization for Service Routes of Pallet Service Center Based on the Pallet Pool Mode.

Service routes optimization (SRO) of pallet service center should meet customers' demand firstly and then, through the reasonable method of lines organization, realize the shortest path of vehicle driving. The routes optimization of pallet service center is similar to the distribution problems of vehicle routing problem (VRP) and Chinese postman problem (CPP), but it has its own characteristics. Based on the relevant research results, the conditions of determining the number of vehicles, the one way of the route, the constraints of loading, and time windows are fully considered, and a chance constrained programming model with stochastic constraints is constructed taking the shortest path of all vehicles for a delivering (recycling) operation as an objective. For the characteristics of the model, a hybrid intelligent algorithm including stochastic simulation, neural network, and immune clonal algorithm is designed to solve the model. Finally, the validity and rationality of the optimization model and algorithm are verified by the case.

Robust Control Optimization of Triple-echelon Closed-loop Pallet Pool System in Multi-uncertain Environment

Robust Control Optimization of Triple-echelon Closed-loop Pallet Pool System in Multi-uncertain Environment

5472369 Centrifugal accelerator, system and method for removing unwanted layers from a surface

The existing industry strategies for managing pallets, (single-use expendable pallets, buy/sell programs, and leased pallet pooling programs), are analyzed and compared using push and pull inventory control policies. A two-stage integrated framework is developed that combines cost relationship models with data gathered in industry with multi-echelon inventory performance measures. For the base case, the single-use expendable pallet approach presents the least cost of all strategies, but the leased pallet pooling programs outperform the buy/sell programs in terms of total cost. The intervals where each strategy is most attractive are shown with respect to pallet cost, salvage cost, dwell fees, effective issue fees, retention rates, and transportation costs.