Role Of Freight Research Articles

A heuristic approach to the stochastic capacitated single allocation hub location problem with Bernoulli demands

Hubs are critical components of transportation and distribution systems, and hub networks play a special role in freight and passenger transportation services worldwide. This paper studies a capacitated single allocation hub location problem with Bernoulli demands. Since the origin-destination (OD) demands are stochastic in nature, and the nodes are allocated to hubs before knowing their realized values, the actual total demand allocated to each hub is uncertain. Therefore, demand can exceed the capacity of hubs, rendering a need for outsourcing. The problem is studied under two distinct outsourcing policies, namely the facility and customer outsourcing. Mathematical models are developed for each case as two-stage stochastic programs. Deterministic equivalent formulations are obtained for problems, assuming a homogeneous demand distribution for all OD pairs. A Tabu Search-based algorithm is presented as a solution approach to deal with large problem instances. Extensive computational tests demonstrate the outstanding performance of the developed models and the metaheuristic procedure in terms of solution quality and computational time. The relevance of using stochastic programming approach for the problems is demonstrated via computational results. This study also reports solutions for problems with 200 nodes for the first time.

A Dial-a-Ride Problem Applied to Saharan Countries: The Case of Taxi Woro-Woro

In a context of increasing competition and sustainable development, service prices and unused capacity enhancement play a crucial role in freight or people transportation management. The focus of the paper is on a Dial-a-ride Problem in the Saharan country context, for the particular of Taxi “woro-woro”1. More precisely, these taxis help to transport groups of people without any affinity, from point A to point B without stopping. Also, we propose for this problem an exact solution based on a mix integer program (MIP). A secondary study on a random instance generation algorithm is presented, which allows us to have a diversified and varied benchmark on which to apply our MIP program.

Role of freight and forwarding company in facilitating the export-import process in Kelantan Malaysia

This case study discusses the role of freight and forwarding companies in facilitating the export import process related to the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Service (Maqis) agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrobased Industry in Kelantan, Malaysia. This case study used qualitative interview method to collect descriptive data on freight and forwarding companies and also from Maqis role, problems faced and suggestions for improvement on the smoothness of the import-export process. The findings of this case study showed that the Maqis needs to issue a specific standard to facilitate the process of aligning the work by informing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to freight and forwarding companies located in Kelantan, particularly those dealing with import export of products from Thailand. This case study can contribute in terms of ideas and suggestions towards continuous improvement either for the Maqis or the freight and forwarding companies. Suggestions for future researchers need to see the effectiveness of the export import process among customers who use Maqis services from aspects of customer satisfaction and service quality.

Role of freight and forwarding company in facilitating the export-import process in Kelantan Malaysia

Role of freight and forwarding company in facilitating the export-import process in Kelantan Malaysia