A learning-based co-planning method with truck and container routing for improved barge departure times

Cooperation between container transport service providers can increase efficiency in the logistics sector significantly. However, cooperation between competitors requires co-planning methods that not only give the cooperating partners an advantage towards external competition but also protect the partners from losing information, clients and...

Synchromodal freight transport re-planning under service time uncertainty: An online model-assisted reinforcement learning

The objective of this study is to address the issue of service time uncertainty in synchromodal freight transport, which can cause delays, inefficiencies, and reduced satisfaction for shippers. The proposed solution is an online deep Reinforcement Learning (RL) approach that takes into account the service time uncertainty, assisted by an...

Synchromodal transport planning considering heterogeneous and vague preferences of shippers

In synchromodal transport, a freight forwarder usually serves multiple shippers with heterogeneous and vague preferences, such as low-cost, fast, or reliable transport. Ignoring shippers’ preferences will negatively impact the satisfaction of shippers and lead to the loss of them in the longer run. In order to incorporate these preferences, a...

Secure Multi-party Co-planning of Barge Departures

Container transport requires real-time control and a high degree of cooperation to alleviate disturbances and perform smoothly without unnecessary environmental impact and monetary losses. The involved operators are, however, often reluctant to cooperate as they fear loosing valuable information and autonomy, eventually leading their clients...

Model predictive control for simultaneous planning of container and vehicle routes

Transport of containers on a-modal bookings enables transport suppliers to route the containers in accordance with the current state of the synchromodal transport network. At the same time, it enables the transport providers to route their vehicles in real time based on the current need for transportation. The interdependency of the routes of...