IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/navres/v55y2008i2p156-171.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Optimal empty vehicle redistribution for hub‐and‐spoke transportation systems

Author

Listed:
  • Dong‐Ping Song
  • Jonathan Carter

Abstract

This article considers the empty vehicle redistribution problem in a hub‐and‐spoke transportation system, with random demands and stochastic transportation times. An event‐driven model is formulated, which yields the implicit optimal control policy. Based on the analytical results for two‐depot systems, a dynamic decomposition procedure is presented which produces a near‐optimal policy with linear computational complexity in terms of the number of spokes. The resulting policy has the same asymptotic behavior as that of the optimal policy. It is found that the threshold‐type control policy is not usually optimal in such systems. The results are illustrated through small‐scale numerical examples. Through simulation the robustness of the dynamic decomposition policy is tested using a variety of scenarios: more spokes, more vehicles, different combinations of distribution types for the empty vehicle travel times and loaded vehicle arrivals. This shows that the dynamic decomposition policy is significantly better than a heuristics policy in all scenarios and appears to be robust to the assumptions of the distribution types. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008

Suggested Citation

  • Dong‐Ping Song & Jonathan Carter, 2008. "Optimal empty vehicle redistribution for hub‐and‐spoke transportation systems," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(2), pages 156-171, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:navres:v:55:y:2008:i:2:p:156-171
    DOI: 10.1002/nav.20274
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/nav.20274
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/nav.20274?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. George J. Beaujon & Mark A. Turnquist, 1991. "A Model for Fleet Sizing and Vehicle Allocation," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 19-45, February.
    2. Teodor Gabriel Crainic & Michel Gendreau & Pierre Dejax, 1993. "Dynamic and Stochastic Models for the Allocation of Empty Containers," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 41(1), pages 102-126, February.
    3. Pierre J. Dejax & Teodor Gabriel Crainic, 1987. "Survey Paper---A Review of Empty Flows and Fleet Management Models in Freight Transportation," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 227-248, November.
    4. Hall, Randolph W. & Zhong, Hongsheng, 2002. "Decentralized inventory control policies for equipment management in a many-to-many network," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 849-865, December.
    5. William C. Jordan & Mark A. Turnquist, 1983. "A Stochastic, Dynamic Network Model for Railroad Car Distribution," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(2), pages 123-145, May.
    6. Yafeng Du & Randolph Hall, 1997. "Fleet Sizing and Empty Equipment Redistribution for Center-Terminal Transportation Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(2), pages 145-157, February.
    7. Gregory A. Godfrey & Warren B. Powell, 2002. "An Adaptive Dynamic Programming Algorithm for Dynamic Fleet Management, II: Multiperiod Travel Times," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(1), pages 40-54, February.
    8. Raymond K. Cheung & Chuen-Yih Chen, 1998. "A Two-Stage Stochastic Network Model and Solution Methods for the Dynamic Empty Container Allocation Problem," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(2), pages 142-162, May.
    9. Kochel, Peter & Kunze, Sophie & Nielander, Ulf, 2003. "Optimal control of a distributed service system with moving resources: Application to the fleet sizing and allocation problem," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 443-459, January.
    10. Warren B. Powell, 1986. "A Stochastic Model of the Dynamic Vehicle Allocation Problem," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 117-129, May.
    11. Gregory A. Godfrey & Warren B. Powell, 2002. "An Adaptive Dynamic Programming Algorithm for Dynamic Fleet Management, I: Single Period Travel Times," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(1), pages 21-39, February.
    12. Raymond K. Cheung & Warren B. Powell, 1996. "An Algorithm for Multistage Dynamic Networks with Random Arc Capacities, with an Application to Dynamic Fleet Management," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 44(6), pages 951-963, December.
    13. Crainic, Teodor Gabriel, 2000. "Service network design in freight transportation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 272-288, April.
    14. Warren Powell & Andrzej Ruszczyński & Huseyin Topaloglu, 2004. "Learning Algorithms for Separable Approximations of Discrete Stochastic Optimization Problems," Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(4), pages 814-836, November.
    15. Choong, Sook Tying & Cole, Michael H. & Kutanoglu, Erhan, 2002. "Empty container management for intermodal transportation networks," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 423-438, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Santiago R. Balseiro & David B. Brown & Chen Chen, 2021. "Dynamic Pricing of Relocating Resources in Large Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(7), pages 4075-4094, July.
    2. Yiting Xing & Ling Li & Zhuming Bi & Marzena Wilamowska‐Korsak & Li Zhang, 2013. "Operations Research (OR) in Service Industries: A Comprehensive Review," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 300-353, May.
    3. Dong, Xiaoyang & Zhang, Bin & Wang, Zhaohua, 2023. "Impact of land use on bike-sharing travel patterns: Evidence from large scale data analysis in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    4. Van der Heide, G. & Roodbergen, K.J. & Van Foreest, N.D., 2021. "Cross docking for libraries with a depot," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 290(2), pages 749-765.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. D-P Song, 2007. "Characterizing optimal empty container reposition policy in periodic-review shuttle service systems," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(1), pages 122-133, January.
    2. George, David K. & Xia, Cathy H., 2011. "Fleet-sizing and service availability for a vehicle rental system via closed queueing networks," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 211(1), pages 198-207, May.
    3. Song, Dong-Ping & Dong, Jing-Xin, 2011. "Effectiveness of an empty container repositioning policy with flexible destination ports," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 92-101, January.
    4. Song, Dong-Ping & Earl, Christopher F., 2008. "Optimal empty vehicle repositioning and fleet-sizing for two-depot service systems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 185(2), pages 760-777, March.
    5. Felix Papier & Ulrich W. Thonemann, 2008. "Queuing Models for Sizing and Structuring Rental Fleets," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(3), pages 302-317, August.
    6. José Carbajal & Alan Erera & Martin Savelsbergh, 2013. "Balancing fleet size and repositioning costs in LTL trucking," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 203(1), pages 235-254, March.
    7. Zhou, Shaorui & Zhang, Hui & Shi, Ning & Xu, Zhou & Wang, Fan, 2020. "A new convergent hybrid learning algorithm for two-stage stochastic programs," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 283(1), pages 33-46.
    8. Hall, Randolph W. & Zhong, Hongsheng, 2002. "Decentralized inventory control policies for equipment management in a many-to-many network," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 849-865, December.
    9. Bojovic, Nebojsa J., 2002. "A general system theory approach to rail freight car fleet sizing," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 136-172, January.
    10. Shi, Ning & Song, Haiqing & Powell, Warren B., 2014. "The dynamic fleet management problem with uncertain demand and customer chosen service level," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 110-121.
    11. Jia Shu & Miao Song, 2014. "Dynamic Container Deployment: Two-Stage Robust Model, Complexity, and Computational Results," INFORMS Journal on Computing, INFORMS, vol. 26(1), pages 135-149, February.
    12. Hall, Randolph W., 1999. "Stochastic freight flow patterns: implications for fleet optimization," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 449-465, August.
    13. Kochel, Peter & Kunze, Sophie & Nielander, Ulf, 2003. "Optimal control of a distributed service system with moving resources: Application to the fleet sizing and allocation problem," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 443-459, January.
    14. Long, Yin & Lee, Loo Hay & Chew, Ek Peng, 2012. "The sample average approximation method for empty container repositioning with uncertainties," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 222(1), pages 65-75.
    15. Amar Kumar Narisetty & Jean-Philippe P. Richard & David Ramcharan & Deby Murphy & Gayle Minks & Jim Fuller, 2008. "An Optimization Model for Empty Freight Car Assignment at Union Pacific Railroad," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 38(2), pages 89-102, April.
    16. Song, Dong-Ping & Dong, Jing-Xin, 2012. "Cargo routing and empty container repositioning in multiple shipping service routes," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1556-1575.
    17. Hamid Sayarshad & Nikbakhsh Javadian & Reza Tavakkoli-Moghaddam & Nastaran Forghani, 2010. "Solving multi-objective optimization formulation for fleet planning in a railway industry," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 181(1), pages 185-197, December.
    18. Jean-François Cordeau & Paolo Toth & Daniele Vigo, 1998. "A Survey of Optimization Models for Train Routing and Scheduling," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(4), pages 380-404, November.
    19. G J King & H Topaloglu, 2007. "Incorporating the pricing decisions into the dynamic fleet management problem," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(8), pages 1065-1074, August.
    20. Gregory A. Godfrey & Warren B. Powell, 2002. "An Adaptive Dynamic Programming Algorithm for Dynamic Fleet Management, I: Single Period Travel Times," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(1), pages 21-39, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:navres:v:55:y:2008:i:2:p:156-171. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1520-6750 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.