Two research problems in a 4th party logistics platform: Shipment planning in a dynamic environment and e-Services platform design.

摘要

This dissertation studies two research problems in a 4th party logistics platform.; 1. Problem one: Shipment planning in a dynamic environment. The planning of air cargo logistics is a complex endeavor that involves the collaboration of multiple logistics agents to deliver shipments in a timely, safe, and economic manner. Airfreight forwarders coordinate and manage shipments for their clients, and with the development of Internet logistics platforms, airfreight forwarders can now trade jobs and resources with other participants effectively. The incorporation of trading alternatives significantly complicates the shipment planning process.; This study proposes a dynamic decision framework for air cargo shipment planning, within the dynamic environment of bidding and trading. The framework has three phases: estimation, trading, and execution. Planning in the phases proceeds iteratively until an acceptable plan is obtained and shipments are set and fulfilled. The optimization of shipment planning is formulated as a mixed 0-1 LP model from a portfolio point of view. Unlike the models in previous research, this model targets profit maximization and takes into account the decisions of job selection and resource selection, and can be solved using a Tabu-based approach. We also discuss the respective rules and strategies that would aid the decision-making processes in the framework.; 2. Problem two: e-services platform design. The need for business logistics starts with a buyer and a seller. It involves arrangements of materials/products moving from the seller to the buyer and payment flows from the buyer and the seller. When the logistics arrangements are not done by the buyer nor the seller but rather by a specialist, we call the specialist a 3rd party logistics (3PL) service providers. A typical logistics service/job involves many agents, for instance, forwarders, truckers, warehouse operators, carriers, etc. In the process, a lot of information will be shared and exchanged among the agents, the buyer and the seller. With the advancement of information technologies, an emerging trend is to have the business dealing, information sharing and even payment arrangement among the logistics agents, buyers and sellers done through e-services on the Internet. In this thesis, we propose a 4th party logistics (4PL) platform, which is an Internet environment to enable and facilitate 3PL providers collaboratively provide services to buyers and sellers.; The proposed platform is called 4PL platform because it facilitates the 3PL agents. To better serve its 3PL clients, the platform should be "neutral", meaning it will not provide logistics services competing with its clients. The 4PL platform will facilitate its clients through e-services. However, existing e-services technology only allows e-services to be provided to individual clients. The idea of providing e-service to collaborating clients is new. We called it the 3rd party e-Service. In this thesis, we have conceptualized and further defined the 3rd party e-Service. To realize the 3rd party e-Service, we have first proposed a 3rd party service-oriented architecture and then developed a set of new elements to the existing e-Service description technology. To prove the concept, the new architecture, and the new description technology, we put into action. Using the shipment planning model as an example, we are able to offer shipment planning e-service to collaborating agents on the Internet.