2297. Crowdshipping with joint deliveries and variable transfer points
Invited abstract in session WB-10: Collaborative delivery, stream Mobility, Transportation, and Traffic.
Wednesday, 10:45-12:15Room: H16
Authors (first author is the speaker)
| 1. | Michel Jahns
|
| Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg | |
| 2. | Christian Bierwirth
|
| Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg |
Abstract
To further uncover the potential of crowdshipping for e-commerce in urban areas, this study investigates how the performance of platforms, that offer crowdshipping services, can be enhanced. For this purpose, it explores how shipments that cannot be handled by a single occasional driver, also called crowdshipper, can be fulfilled through transport chains involving two or more cooperating crowdshippers. This form of crowdshipping, often referred to in the literature as joint delivery, is typically implemented using stationary or mobile transfer points, which usually also offers options for secure interim storage of deliveries if needed. In contrast, the present project considers direct handovers of packages at freely chosen locations. The approach not only increases flexibility but also eliminates the need to maintain secure storage facilities at designated transfer points. However, fully synchronizing the crowdshippers in both time and space significantly increases planning complexity. To address the associated optimization problem, a multi-stage heuristic solution approach is proposed. In this approach we first cluster crowdshippers, then generate delivery options, and finally solve the resulting winner determination problem using an appropriate metaheuristic. The implementation of the approach results promising solutions that are showing an acceptable tradeoff between computational time and solution quality.
Keywords
- Mobility
- Metaheuristics
- Logistics
Status: accepted
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