Çok Periyotlu Planlama Ufku Altında Heterojen Mobil Kargo Dolabı Yerleşim ve Atama Problemi: Bir Matematiksel Model Önerisi

Abstract

With the rapid proliferation of digital technologies, the importance of e-commerce is increasing day by day. Online shopping is surpassing traditional shopping practices and enhancing the significance of last-mile delivery. In this system, where the final step of delivery is tracked to the customer, companies are working on various applications to make informed decisions about delivery methods. This occurs due to the fact that relying solely on home delivery makes it challenging to properly deliver all orders. Therefore, companies are seeking different delivery options for last-mile transportation. Numerous qualitative and quantitative studies in the literature address this issue. The logistics sector’s interest in last-mile delivery methods has grown due to customers’ shopping preferences. Consequently, recent studies have shown increasing interest in the use of parcel lockers for last-mile delivery. In the parcel locker delivery method, lockers are placed near customers’ locations, allowing deliveries to be made to these lockers, from which customers can retrieve their packages at their convenience. This delivery method appears in two forms: stationary and mobile. Unlike stationary parcel lockers, mobile parcel lockers can be relocated periodically based on demand. In this study, a multi-period location and assignment problem for heterogeneous capacity mobile parcel lockers is formulated mathematically using an Integer Linear Programming model. The aim of the model is to minimize operational costs and walking distances between points. Subsequently, the applicability of the model and the benefits obtained from its use are demonstrated through a case study. Additionally, the contributions of the model to the literature are examined through various scenarios in the conducted analyses.