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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Jingxin DongORCiD
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This paper considers the empty container management problem in a cyclic shipping route. The objective is to seek the optimal empty container repositioning policy in a dynamic and stochastic situation by minimising the expected total costs consisting of inventory holding costs, demand lost-sale costs, lifting-on and lifting-off charges, and container transportation costs. A three-phase threshold control policy is developed to reposition empty containers in cyclic routes. The threshold values are determined based on the information of average customer demands and their variability. A non-repositioning policy and three other heuristic policies are introduced for purposes of comparison. Simulation is used to evaluate the performance of empty repositioning policies. A range of numerical examples with different demand patterns; degrees of uncertainty, and fleet sizes demonstrate that the threshold policy significantly outperforms the heuristic policies.
Author(s): Song DP, Dong JX
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Maritime Economics and Logistics
Year: 2008
Volume: 10
Issue: 4
Pages: 335-361
ISSN (print): 1479-2931
ISSN (electronic): 1479-294X
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/mel.2008.11
DOI: 10.1057/mel.2008.11
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