Collaborative Optimization of Container Liner Slot Allocation and Empty Container Repositioning Based on Online Booking Platform

The shipping market is unpredictable and volatile due to some uncontrollable factors such as epidemic, conflicts and natural disasters. There is always an imperfect match between the supply capacity of liner companies and the actual demand of the market, which leads to a waste of slot resources and/...

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Main Authors: Wenmin Wang, Zaili Yang, Cuijie Diao, Zhihong Jin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/23/11092
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author Wenmin Wang
Zaili Yang
Cuijie Diao
Zhihong Jin
author_facet Wenmin Wang
Zaili Yang
Cuijie Diao
Zhihong Jin
author_sort Wenmin Wang
collection DOAJ
description The shipping market is unpredictable and volatile due to some uncontrollable factors such as epidemic, conflicts and natural disasters. There is always an imperfect match between the supply capacity of liner companies and the actual demand of the market, which leads to a waste of slot resources and/or unsatisfied customer demand. Furthermore, the trade off between empty container transportation and laden container transportation is the crucial problem of strategic importance for liner companies. To deal with the above problem, this paper aims to develop a new solution to the collaborative optimization problem of container slot allocation and empty container repositioning by exploring the resource allocation, storage, and repositioning methods collaboratively. An online booking platform is introduced in this paper, and no-shows and customer preferences are considered in the analysis. An innovative integer programming model is established based on an online booking mode and a delivery-postponed strategy. A new branch-and-cut algorithm is then proposed to solve the problem. Finally, numerical experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm. The experimental results show that collaborative optimization can remarkably enhance the revenue of liner companies along with increasing the utilization of slot resources.
format Article
id doaj-art-c6a2fce776524cfea99a2069a552ce9f
institution OA Journals
issn 2076-3417
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publishDate 2024-11-01
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spelling doaj-art-c6a2fce776524cfea99a2069a552ce9f2025-08-20T02:38:35ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-11-0114231109210.3390/app142311092Collaborative Optimization of Container Liner Slot Allocation and Empty Container Repositioning Based on Online Booking PlatformWenmin Wang0Zaili Yang1Cuijie Diao2Zhihong Jin3Transportation Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, ChinaLiverpool Logistics, Offshore and Marine (LOOM) Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKTransportation Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, ChinaTransportation Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, ChinaThe shipping market is unpredictable and volatile due to some uncontrollable factors such as epidemic, conflicts and natural disasters. There is always an imperfect match between the supply capacity of liner companies and the actual demand of the market, which leads to a waste of slot resources and/or unsatisfied customer demand. Furthermore, the trade off between empty container transportation and laden container transportation is the crucial problem of strategic importance for liner companies. To deal with the above problem, this paper aims to develop a new solution to the collaborative optimization problem of container slot allocation and empty container repositioning by exploring the resource allocation, storage, and repositioning methods collaboratively. An online booking platform is introduced in this paper, and no-shows and customer preferences are considered in the analysis. An innovative integer programming model is established based on an online booking mode and a delivery-postponed strategy. A new branch-and-cut algorithm is then proposed to solve the problem. Finally, numerical experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm. The experimental results show that collaborative optimization can remarkably enhance the revenue of liner companies along with increasing the utilization of slot resources.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/23/11092collaborative optimizationslot allocationempty container repositioningonline booking platformdelivery-postponed strategyno-show
spellingShingle Wenmin Wang
Zaili Yang
Cuijie Diao
Zhihong Jin
Collaborative Optimization of Container Liner Slot Allocation and Empty Container Repositioning Based on Online Booking Platform
Applied Sciences
collaborative optimization
slot allocation
empty container repositioning
online booking platform
delivery-postponed strategy
no-show
title Collaborative Optimization of Container Liner Slot Allocation and Empty Container Repositioning Based on Online Booking Platform
title_full Collaborative Optimization of Container Liner Slot Allocation and Empty Container Repositioning Based on Online Booking Platform
title_fullStr Collaborative Optimization of Container Liner Slot Allocation and Empty Container Repositioning Based on Online Booking Platform
title_full_unstemmed Collaborative Optimization of Container Liner Slot Allocation and Empty Container Repositioning Based on Online Booking Platform
title_short Collaborative Optimization of Container Liner Slot Allocation and Empty Container Repositioning Based on Online Booking Platform
title_sort collaborative optimization of container liner slot allocation and empty container repositioning based on online booking platform
topic collaborative optimization
slot allocation
empty container repositioning
online booking platform
delivery-postponed strategy
no-show
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/23/11092
work_keys_str_mv AT wenminwang collaborativeoptimizationofcontainerlinerslotallocationandemptycontainerrepositioningbasedononlinebookingplatform
AT zailiyang collaborativeoptimizationofcontainerlinerslotallocationandemptycontainerrepositioningbasedononlinebookingplatform
AT cuijiediao collaborativeoptimizationofcontainerlinerslotallocationandemptycontainerrepositioningbasedononlinebookingplatform
AT zhihongjin collaborativeoptimizationofcontainerlinerslotallocationandemptycontainerrepositioningbasedononlinebookingplatform