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On the Benefits of Flexible Customer-to-Depot Assignments in Attended Home Delivery

Author

Listed:
  • Seifried, K.
  • Agatz, N.A.H.
  • Fleischmann, M.

Abstract

This paper investigates the value of flexibility in customer-to-depot assignments in last-mile distribution operations. In current practice, many companies use fixed delivery regions for their fulfillment warehouses. This allows a decomposition of delivery operations by ware- house, thereby simplifying the planning process. However, this approach foregoes some optimization potential, relative to a holistic planning of the delivery operations across the network. In this paper, we assess the value of this flexibility. We first identify and characterize two specific types of benefits, namely a routing benefit and a pooling benefit. We then proceed to quantify these benefits in an extensive numerical study. Our results disentangle how the benefits depend on key environmental parameters. They also show that a flexible customer-to-depot assignment can add significant value in various relevant conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Seifried, K. & Agatz, N.A.H. & Fleischmann, M., 2019. "On the Benefits of Flexible Customer-to-Depot Assignments in Attended Home Delivery," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2019-004-LIS, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    • Handle: RePEc:ems:eureri:116065
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    routing; multiple depots; time windows; attended home delivery;
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