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Truck Scheduling in the Postal Service Industry

Author

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  • Nils Boysen

    (Friedrich–Schiller–Universität Jena, Lehrstuhl für Operations Management, 07743 Jena, Germany)

  • Stefan Fedtke

    (Friedrich–Schiller–Universität Jena, Lehrstuhl für Operations Management, 07743 Jena, Germany)

  • Felix Weidinger

    (Friedrich–Schiller–Universität Jena, Lehrstuhl für Operations Management, 07743 Jena, Germany)

Abstract

The distribution networks of the postal service industry are organized according to the hub-and-spoke paradigm, so that parcel distribution centers play a crucial role to consolidate the parcel flows to full truckloads. In these terminals, inbound trucks are unloaded at gates, shipments are identified, sorted by the central sortation conveyor system, and loaded into outbound trailers, in which they are moved toward their next destination. In this context, the scheduling of inbound trucks, which assigns a gate and a processing interval to each truck, is an essential operational decision problem. We formalize the resulting optimization problem and provide suited solution procedures. Furthermore, we test the impact of truck scheduling on the sortation performance of the central conveyor system with the help of a comprehensive terminal simulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Nils Boysen & Stefan Fedtke & Felix Weidinger, 2017. "Truck Scheduling in the Postal Service Industry," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(2), pages 723-736, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ortrsc:v:51:y:2017:i:2:p:723-736
    DOI: 10.1287/trsc.2016.0722
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Tadumadze, Giorgi & Boysen, Nils & Emde, Simon & Weidinger, Felix, 2019. "Integrated truck and workforce scheduling to accelerate the unloading of trucks," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 278(1), pages 343-362.
    2. Wolff, Pascal & Emde, Simon & Pfohl, Hans-Christian, 2021. "Internal resource requirements: The better performance metric for truck scheduling?," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    3. Giorgi Tadumadze & Simon Emde & Heiko Diefenbach, 2020. "Exact and heuristic algorithms for scheduling jobs with time windows on unrelated parallel machines," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 42(2), pages 461-497, June.
    4. Hans Corsten & Ferdinand Becker & Hagen Salewski, 2020. "Integrating truck and workforce scheduling in a cross-dock: analysis of different workforce coordination policies," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(2), pages 207-237, March.
    5. Boysen, Nils & Briskorn, Dirk & Fedtke, Stefan & Schmickerath, Marcel, 2019. "Automated sortation conveyors: A survey from an operational research perspective," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 276(3), pages 796-815.
    6. Stefan Bugow & Carolin Kellenbrink, 2023. "The parcel hub scheduling problem with limited conveyor capacity and controllable unloading speeds," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 45(2), pages 325-357, June.
    7. Simon Emde & Hamid Abedinnia & Anne Lange & Christoph H. Glock, 2020. "Scheduling personnel for the build-up of unit load devices at an air cargo terminal with limited space," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 42(2), pages 397-426, June.
    8. Giorgi Tadumadze & Nils Boysen & Simon Emde, 2020. "Robust spotter scheduling in trailer yards," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 42(4), pages 995-1021, December.
    9. Khir, Reem & Erera, Alan & Toriello, Alejandro, 2023. "Robust planning of sorting operations in express delivery systems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 306(2), pages 615-631.

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