Dispatching Shipments at Minimal Cost with Multiple Mode Alternatives

Abstract

Numerous organizations are involved in distributing goods and materials. When shipping alternatives exist, the selection of the appropriate shipping alternative (mode) for each shipment may result in significant cost savings. This paper describes a highly flexible dispatching system that selects the shipping mode to be used for each shipment while minimizing the overall shipping costs. Multiple shipping modes must be considered when one faces economies of scale in shipping. On the one hand, combining shipments on a truck route usually results in reduced cost per shipment, but on the other hand, a common carrier alternative almost always exists. Therefore, nearly every major shipper faces shipping mode alternatives.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1994
Accession Number
ADA576148

Entities

People

  • Dan O. Bausch
  • David Ronen
  • Gerald G. Jerry Brown

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Computer Programming
  • Computers
  • Contracts
  • Integer Programming
  • Logistics
  • Logistics Management
  • Materials
  • Mathematical Models
  • Mathematical Programming
  • Operations Research
  • Optimization
  • Scheduling (Production)
  • Shipping
  • Systems Engineering

Readers

  • Applied Combinatorial Optimization and Logic Circuit Design.
  • Maritime Security/Maritime Homeland Security
  • Systems Analysis and Design