Container drayage problem with flexible orders and its near real-time solution strategies

This article studies a container drayage problem with flexible orders defined by using requiring and releasing attributes as a unified formulation of various order types. A determined-activities-on-vertex (DAOV) graph introduces a temporary vertex set to formulate different truck statuses. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model based on the DAOV graph. Four strategies including a window partition based (WPB) strategy are presented and evaluated extensively to solve the problem. Results indicate that the WPB method could solve the problem effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, this method is robust considering the operating time biases compared to other algorithms.     

Optimal capacity and operation design of a robot logistics system for the hotel industry

This study introduces an optimal capacity and operation design of a robot logistics system that can reduce human workload in the hotel industry. In hotels, there are several duties that can be replaced by robots such as accompanying guests to the certain areas, delivering specific items to the guest rooms, and transporting some items that guests want to be removed from the guest rooms. To apply the robot logistics system in the hotel industry, the capacity and operation design should be prepared adequately. For that, a mathematical model-based optimization technique is used to decide the number of robots with the concept of minimizing total investment cost and to derive the optimal job assigning with the purpose of maximizing total covered jobs. In addition, a numerical example is performed to validate the proposed mathematical model and the sensitivity tests are examined to reflect the random features.     

Utilizing urban form characteristics in urban logistics analysis: a case study in Lisbon,Portugal

Within the realm of urban logistics, Macário (2013) developed a hypothesis, denominated the Logistics Profile (LP) concept that suggests homogeneous groups of urban zones with respect to three dimensions, which could be used to analyze freight movement policy: (1) the social and built environment; (2) characteristics of the goods/products being moved; (3) characteristics of the deliveries at the receiver establishment. The concept was expected to ease the transferability of best practices in city logistics, by analyzing similarities and differences between zones. This research uses a quantitative methodology to apply the LP concept, and assess its potential, using the city of Lisbon as a case study. The analysis is focused on: (a) the extrapolation of freight trip generation per establishment and delivery characteristics from a sample of commercial establishments to the population within the case study, (b) proposing a methodology to test the LPs, (c) testing the existence of proposed LPs. Freight trips have been extrapolated using a Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) model. Freight delivery characteristics were attributed to establishments from a sample-based probability distribution. LPs were tested using a two-step cluster analysis. Some LPs have been matched with clusters of case-study zones, subject to case study particularities. Profile overlap was not an issue and occurrences were expected. The testing showed that Logistic Profiles have the potential for being used as a departure point for urban freight planning and policy analysis.     

A decade of hybrid reporting and accountabilities of the Hanyeping Company (1909–1919)

Using a model of hybrid reporting and accountabilities, this article considers the reporting and accountability of the Hanyeping Company in the Beiyang era. The results of the study suggest that the Hanyeping Company attempted to provide comprehensive accounts of its activities to satisfy the needs of a plethora of domestic and foreign stakeholders through a combination of detailed Western and Chinese accounts. In keeping with Western and indigenous Chinese expectations of accounting, the Hanyeping Company prepared accounts that demonstrated characteristics of Auyeung’s demonstrated features of nineteenth-century Westernised reporting and the traditional reporting model. This suggests that the period between 1909 and 1919 experienced a decade of reporting hybridisation in direct contrast to the so-called period of accounting stagnation of the late Qing Dynasty.     

以“Company”团队为载体,推动经贸英语教学

本文试图以经贸英语教学中的核心——学生为切入点,通过对学生角色及相关问题的探讨,提出了在经贸英语教学中采用＂Company＂团队教学模式的设想,并讨论了该教学模式几种可能的具体组织形式和实施这一教学模式的优势。     

Benefits of in-vehicle consolidation in less than truckload freight transportation operations

Researchers and public agencies have proposed consolidation policies as an alternative to increase truck payload utilization and mitigate externalities produced by freight transportation. Understanding and enhancing the economic mechanisms that lead to freight consolidation can ease the implementation of these strategies, increase profits for shippers and carriers, and reduce freight-related negative externalities. An important mechanism that has recently been studied for cost reduction in the freight industry is combinatorial auctions. In these auctions, a shipper invites a set of carriers to submit bids for freight lane contracts. Carriers can bid for individual lanes or bundles of them according to their operational characteristics. These bids are constructed considering direct shipments (Truckload operations) and several biding advisory models have been proposed for this purpose. However, there are economies of scale that can be achieved if shipments are consolidated inside vehicles, which have not been explored in the construction of competitive bids. This paper investigates such benefits and provides insights on the competitiveness and challenges associated to the development of consolidated bids (suitable for Less-Than-Truckload operations). Consolidated bids are constructed using a multi-commodity one-to-one pickup-and-delivery vehicle routing problem that is solved using a branch-and-price algorithm. The numerical experiment shows that non-consolidated bids are dominated by consolidated bids, which implies that this type of operation can increase the likelihood of a carrier to win auctioned lanes, while increasing its profits margins over truckload companies (non-consolidated bids), and keeping the reported benefits that combinatorial auctions represent for shippers.     

电子商务环境下中小企业物流运作存在的问题与对策

中小企业在我国国民经济中占有重要的地位,而电子商务作为一种新的经济运作方式是中小企业发展的必由之路.物流服务于商流,是实现“以顾客为中心“理念的根本保证,没有现代化的物流,就无法实现真正的电子商务.本文在详细分析了电子商务环境下中小企业物流运作存在的问题基础上,提出了中小企业物流发展的对策.     

浅谈如何合理改造邵阳烟草物流应用平台

本文从烟草商业企业经营战略目标的角度出发,结合湖南省烟草公司邵阳市公司卷烟物流的现状,针对邵阳市公司卷烟物流应用平台改造项目进行了必要性和可行性分析,阐述了卷烟物流应用平台规划的相关理念和原则,为邵阳烟草搭建经济、实用的卷烟物流应用平台,提供了重要的参考思路。     

江苏省区域物流业发展水平的比较分析

近年来,江苏省现代物流业整体得到了快速发展,但区域物流发展水平不平衡现象较为明显。本文采用多元统计分析的因子分析和聚类分析对江苏省13个地级市物流业发展水平进行了比较分析,从中找出各地区自身的优劣势以及地区间的差距,最后就提升江苏省区域物流业发展水平提出了相应的对策建议。     

A汽车公司整车配送模式优化及实施

汽车整车物流的核心在于整车配送,合理的配送模式更有利于汽车企业的管理,更有利于提高公司整车配送质量、降低公司整车配送费用。文中先对A公司整车配送模式及存在问题进行分析,在此基础上提出公司整车配送模式优化、优化后的益处以及具体实施。