Research

16 pages, 2154 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Location of Railway Emergency Rescue Spots Based on a Near-Full Covering Problem: From a Perspective of Diverse Scenarios

by Huizhu Wang and Jianqin Zhou

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6833; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15086833 - 18 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 859

Abstract

The location of railway emergency rescue spots is facing diverse scenarios including the location of new facilities and optimization of existing layouts with limited or non-limited conditions. Generally there will be heavily redundant covering ability if all the edge demands on a network [...] Read more.

The location of railway emergency rescue spots is facing diverse scenarios including the location of new facilities and optimization of existing layouts with limited or non-limited conditions. Generally there will be heavily redundant covering ability if all the edge demands on a network are fully covered. Here, we first proposed a near-full covering model to balance investment in the facility and the actual coverage rate, and successfully applied this model in the optimal location of railway emergency rescue spots under diverse scenarios. We also developed a feasible solution that can select an effective algorithm or a greedy algorithm based on the total consumed time. With the constraint of a fixed coverage rate threshold, a larger coverage radius may lead to fewer facilities and higher relative redundancy. Flexible designs of the important node set where all the elements must be selected and the exclusive node set where all the elements cannot be selected are carried out to construct several scenarios. The comparative analysis shows that the optimal solution is an obvious improvement on the existing emergency rescue spot layout in the real railway network. This study provides an alternative version of the edge covering problem, and shows a successful application in the location problem of railway rescue spots. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Freight Transport, City Logistics and Transportation)

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22 pages, 6022 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Effects of Logistics Center Location: An Analytical Framework for Sustainable Urban Logistics

by Yanxia Wang, Yisong Li and Changxiang Lu

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3091; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15043091 - 08 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1793

Abstract

Sustainable urban logistics require support of sustainable logistics center location planning. Nevertheless, urban public authorities generally experience difficulties in choosing a successful planning scheme, due to the lack of a rigorous analytical tool designed to help understand how logistics center location affects sustainability [...] Read more.

Sustainable urban logistics require support of sustainable logistics center location planning. Nevertheless, urban public authorities generally experience difficulties in choosing a successful planning scheme, due to the lack of a rigorous analytical tool designed to help understand how logistics center location affects sustainability throughout the supply chain. A poor location can keep a firm or a supply chain from reaching its economic, environmental, and social sustainability goals. A good location can help meet these goals. To address the pressing cause of policy failure, this paper developed an analytical framework by integrating the multi-criteria decision-making method and the shortest path model with multiple objectives. The developed framework can be used to evaluate the effects of logistics center location schemes on travel time, transport costs, carbon emission, and road traffic, and further explore the conflict level among them. It is applied to Beijing in this paper. The analysis results reveal that: (1) travel time, transport costs, and carbon emissions all vary along with the distance from logistics center location to the city center; (2) encouraging cargo companies to plan their truck paths with the navigation objective of minimizing travel time is an excellent way to achieve sustainable urban logistics, because in this scenario, freight transport is the quickest, and transport costs and carbon emissions are all more moderate. Additionally, this paper confirmed the conflict level among sustainability goals of urban logistics based on actual contextual data. The proposed framework is a helpful guide tool for urban planners to develop sustainable logistics land-use planning and responsive policy interventions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Freight Transport, City Logistics and Transportation)

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22 pages, 1011 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Online Retailer’s Contingent Free-Shipping Decisions under Large-Scale Promotions Considering Delayed Delivery

by Xiaxia Ma, Wenliang Bian, Xiqing Yang, Shengnan Niu, Yongming Cai, Jie Guan and Wenbin Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10773; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141710773 - 29 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1382

Abstract

Large-scale promotions lead to a huge number of orders, and the quantity of deliveries grows sharply, which puts considerable strain on cities’ logistics and imposes high related shipping costs. To alleviate these consequences, in this paper we provide a new contingent free shipping [...] Read more.

Large-scale promotions lead to a huge number of orders, and the quantity of deliveries grows sharply, which puts considerable strain on cities’ logistics and imposes high related shipping costs. To alleviate these consequences, in this paper we provide a new contingent free shipping policy with delayed delivery (DD-CFS) for an online retailer during large-scale promotions and study its CFS threshold decisions, considering consumers’ different sensitivities to delivery time delays.We start by analyzing a consumer’s purchasing decision based on consumer utility theory. Next, we establish a mathematical model to help the online retailer find the optimal CFS threshold to maximize its expected profit. Finally, we analyze the benefit of delayed delivery to the online retailer and conduct a sensitivity analysis to examine the impacts of important parameters on the online retailer’s CFS threshold decisions, profit, and the value of the delayed delivery. We find that the DD-CFS policy can lead to more profits during the large-scale promotions period compared with the traditional CFS policy. As the delayed delivery time and the consumer’s negative attitude towards delayed delivery time increase, the online retailer should reduce the low CFS threshold value. On the other hand, as the shipping fee and the consumer’s negative attitude towards the shipping fee increase, the online retailer should raise the high and low CFS threshold values. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Freight Transport, City Logistics and Transportation)

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32 pages, 7425 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Heuristic for the Two-Echelon Multi-Period Multi-Product Location–Inventory Problem with Partial Facility Closing and Reopening

by Puntipa Punyim, Ampol Karoonsoontawong, Avinash Unnikrishnan and Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10569; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141710569 - 24 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1350

Abstract

In this paper, the two-echelon multi-period multi-product location–inventory problem with partial facility closing and reopening is studied. For each product and period, plants serve warehouses, which serve consolidation hubs, which service customers with independent, normally distributed demands. The schedule of construction, temporary partial [...] Read more.

In this paper, the two-echelon multi-period multi-product location–inventory problem with partial facility closing and reopening is studied. For each product and period, plants serve warehouses, which serve consolidation hubs, which service customers with independent, normally distributed demands. The schedule of construction, temporary partial closing, and reopening of modular capacities of facilities, the continuous-review inventory control policies at warehouses, the allocation of customer demands to hubs, and the allocation of hubs to warehouses are determined. The service levels for stockout at warehouses during lead time and the violation of warehouse and hub capacities are explicitly considered. The proposed mixed-integer non-linear program minimizes the weighted summation of the number of different facilities and logistical costs, so that the number of different facilities can be controlled. Since the proposed model is np-hard, the multi-start construction and tabu search improvement heuristic (MS-CTSIH) with two improvement strategies and the modified MS-CTSIH incorporating both strategies are proposed. The experiment shows that the two improvement strategies appear non-dominated, and the modified MS-CTSIH yields the best results. The comparison of the modified MS-CTSIH and a commercial solver on a small instance shows the efficiency and effectiveness of the modified MS-CTSIH. The sensitivity analyses of problem parameters are performed on a large instance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Freight Transport, City Logistics and Transportation)

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11 pages, 825 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Bi-Level Programming Model for the Integrated Problem of Low Carbon Supplier Selection and Transportation

by Hongli Zhu, Congcong Liu and Yongming Song

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10446; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141610446 - 22 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1326

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate an integrated problem of low-carbon supplier selection and transportation. The supplier selection decision depends on the location and energy consumption level of batching plants at the manufacturing stage. Meanwhile, ready-mixed concrete is allocated and delivered to construction sites [...] Read more.

In this paper, we investigate an integrated problem of low-carbon supplier selection and transportation. The supplier selection decision depends on the location and energy consumption level of batching plants at the manufacturing stage. Meanwhile, ready-mixed concrete is allocated and delivered to construction sites by concrete mixer trucks at the transportation stage. A bi-level programming model for the integrated problem is established. The bi-level optimization problem is transformed into a single-level problem by KKT (Karush–Kuhn–Tucker) optimality conditions. In order to validate the proposed model, a case study is conducted based on real-world problems. Experimental results show that the proposed method efficiently solves the integrated problem and the model can not only reduce carbon emissions but also optimize transportation time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Freight Transport, City Logistics and Transportation)

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18 pages, 2242 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Structure and Development Patterns of Urban Traffic Flow Network in Less Developed Areas: A Sustainable Development Perspective

by Xiaokun Su, Chenrouyu Zheng, Yefei Yang, Yafei Yang, Wen Zhao and Yue Yu

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 8095; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14138095 - 02 Jul 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2015

Abstract

Sustainable development is a scientific development requirement for economic, social, and ecological development and is particularly important for less developed areas to achieve high quality development. Among them, the traffic flow network is a key contributor to economic activity and an inclusive society, [...] Read more.

Sustainable development is a scientific development requirement for economic, social, and ecological development and is particularly important for less developed areas to achieve high quality development. Among them, the traffic flow network is a key contributor to economic activity and an inclusive society, as well as influencing the regional ecology, and is an important way to reflect the connection and structure of cities and towns. Based on the literature related to sustainable development, the article takes the passenger traffic data of highways, railways, and aviation of Inner Mongolia in 2021 as the sample and applies the complex network analysis method to analyze the traffic flow network structure and refine the spatial development patterns. The results show that: (1) The highway network is manifested as the connection between the central urban areas and surrounding banner counties and the connection between the adjacent banner counties. The railroad flow is extended and expanded by the railway line with core cities as the development axis. The internal and external connections of Hohhot are the general form of aviation network. The less developed areas under traffic flow network show obvious pointing of core cities and important node towns. (2) Each traffic flow network has the tendency of scale-free and small-world properties. The influence of key town nodes in the traffic flow network is relatively limited. (3) The town connection patterns under the highway, railway, and air flow networks are “single-core and multi-point”, “axis-spoke”, and “hub-spoke”, respectively. The multiple traffic flows support the development framework of towns in less developed areas. This paper also proposes strategies for the regional transport and urban pattern with complementary advantages and high quality and sustainable development in less developed areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Freight Transport, City Logistics and Transportation)

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14 pages, 4137 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Data-Driven Public R&D Project Performance Evaluation: Results from China

by Hongbo Li, Bowen Yao and Xin Yan

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7147; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13137147 - 25 Jun 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1986

Abstract

In public R&D projects, to improve the decision-making process and ensure the sustainability of public investment, it is indispensable to effectively evaluate the project performance. Currently, public R&D project management departments and various academic databases have accumulated a large number of project-related data. [...] Read more.

In public R&D projects, to improve the decision-making process and ensure the sustainability of public investment, it is indispensable to effectively evaluate the project performance. Currently, public R&D project management departments and various academic databases have accumulated a large number of project-related data. In view of this, we propose a data-driven performance evaluation framework for public R&D projects. In our framework, we collect structured and unstructured data related to completed projects from multiple websites. Then, these data are cleaned and fused to form a unified dataset. We train a project performance evaluation model by extracting the project performance information implicit in the dataset based on multi-classification supervised learning algorithms. When facing a new project that needs to be evaluated, its performance can be automatically predicted by inputting the characteristic information of the project into our performance evaluation model. Our framework is validated based on the project data of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in terms of four performance measures (i.e., Accuracy, Recall, Precision, F1 score). In addition, we provide a case study that applies our framework to evaluate the project performance in the logistics and supply chain area of NSFC. In conclusion, this paper contributes to the body of knowledge in sustainability by developing a data-driven method that equips the decision-maker with an automated project performance evaluation tool to make sustainable project decisions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Freight Transport, City Logistics and Transportation)

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13 pages, 876 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Conceptual Model Based on the Activity System and Transportation System for Sustainable Urban Freight Transport

by Demostenis Ramos Cassiano, Bruno Vieira Bertoncini and Leise Kelli de Oliveira

Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5642; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13105642 - 18 May 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3573

Abstract

Urban freight transport (UFT) is simultaneously responsible for maintaining the urban lifestyle and the negative externalities impacting urban areas, necessitating strategies that promote sustainable urban freight transport (SUFT). In addition, the stakeholders and geographic factors involved in UFT impose specific concerns in the [...] Read more.

Urban freight transport (UFT) is simultaneously responsible for maintaining the urban lifestyle and the negative externalities impacting urban areas, necessitating strategies that promote sustainable urban freight transport (SUFT). In addition, the stakeholders and geographic factors involved in UFT impose specific concerns in the planning and operation stages of SUFT. Therefore, this paper proposes a model addressing sustainable last-mile delivery considering the relationship between the activity system, transportation system, and stakeholders involved in UFT. Based on the literature review, we identified UFT planning procedures to achieve SUFT. In a cyclical process, these procedures were considered on the proposed model, integrating freight transport planning with urban planning to develop SUFT and, consequently, sustainable cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Freight Transport, City Logistics and Transportation)

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