Network Design for Express Shipment Delivery

  • Authors:
  • Cynthia Barnhart;Niranjan Krishnan;Daeki Kim;Keith Ware

  • Affiliations:
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA;American Express, New York, New York;i2 Technologies, Cambridge, MA, USA;UPS Airlines, Louisville, KY, USA

  • Venue:
  • Computational Optimization and Applications
  • Year:
  • 2002

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Abstract

Service network design problems arise at airlines (passenger and cargo), trucking companies, railroads, etc., wherever there is a need to determine cost minimizing routes and schedules, given constraints on resource availability and level of service. We focus on a particular service network design application, namely, the express shipment delivery problem, and we develop models and a solution technique designed specifically for large-scale express delivery problems with time windows. Using data from an express delivery company, we demonstrate that our approach can produce savings in total operating costs and provide a valuable tool for making decisions at strategic and tactical levels.