Urban Freight Distribution Considering Logistics Chain Structure: Selection of Supplier with Distribution Channel

Urban freight models are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Still, there is a research gap associated with the consideration of logistics chain structures when modeling freight distribution. There are strong arguments for the influence of distribution channel, for example, on shipment size. Thus, the authors hypothesize that logistics chain structure is an important element in the modeling of freight flows. It is challenging to collect logistics chain information. Nevertheless, shipment records can be used to infer part of the logistics chain that shipment belonged to. The authors propose and estimate a Nested Logit model for the two-level decision making: supplier function choice (distribution channel choice) and supplier choice. The authors estimate this model using the data from the Tokyo Metropolitan Freight Survey, using a test case for household/light manufacturing goods. The estimated model captures the multilevel decision structure for generating shipments and provides insights on the differences in supplier choice by distribution channel. Different receiver types are revealed to have distinct tendencies in their sourcing behavior. The test for reproducibility indicates the proposed model can reproduce test-case origin-destination (OD) flows well. The distribution channel of shipments should be incorporated in the following steps in urban freight simulation, such as carrier choice and vehicle routing.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AT015 Standing Committee on Freight Transportation Planning and Logistics.
• Authors:
  • Sakai, Takanori
  • Kuzhiyamkunnath, B K
  • Alho, André
  • Hyodo, Tetsuro
  • Ben-Akiva, Moshe
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 7p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Freight traffic; Logistics; Logits; Physical distribution; Routing; Shipments; Simulation; Suppliers; Supply chain management; Traffic flow; Urban areas
• Geographic Terms: Tokyo (Japan)
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01661450
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-05930
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 28 2018 9:22AM