Liner alliance shipping network design model with shippers' choice inertia and empty container relocation

Xu Xin; Xiaoli Wang; Tao Zhang; Haichao Chen; Qian Guo; Shaorui Zhou; Xu Xin; Xiaoli Wang; Tao Zhang; Haichao Chen; Qian Guo; Shaorui Zhou

doi:10.3934/era.2023280

Electronic Research Archive

2023, Volume 31, Issue 9: 5509-5540. doi: 10.3934/era.2023280

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Liner alliance shipping network design model with shippers' choice inertia and empty container relocation

1.
School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
2.
Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, Faculty of Business, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 999077, China
3.
School of Economics and Management, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
4.
School of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
5.
Shenzhen International Maritime Institute, Shenzhen 508081, China

Received: 01 July 2023 Revised: 26 July 2023 Accepted: 30 July 2023 Published: 10 August 2023

Liner companies have responded to escalating trade conflicts and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by forming alliances and implementing streamlined approaches to manage empty containers, which has strengthened the resilience of their supply chains. Meanwhile, shippers have grown more sensitive during these turbulent times. Motivated by the market situation, we investigate a liner alliance shipping network design problem considering the choice inertia of shippers and empty container relocation. To address this problem, we propose a bilevel programming model. The upper model aims to maximize the alliance's profit by optimizing the alliance's shipping network and fleet design scheme. The lower model focuses on optimizing the slot allocation scheme and the empty container relocation scheme. To ensure the sustainable operation of the alliance, we develop an inverse optimization model to allocate profits among alliance members. Furthermore, we design a differential evolution metaheuristic algorithm to solve the model. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm, numerical experiments are conducted using actual shipping data from the Asia-Western Europe shipping route. The results confirm the validity of the proposed model and algorithm, which can serve as a crucial decision-making reference for the daily operations of a liner shipping alliance.
- shipping network design,
- liner alliance,
- choice inertia,
- profit allocation,
- empty container relocation,
- inverse optimization,
- differential evolution (DE)
Citation: Xu Xin, Xiaoli Wang, Tao Zhang, Haichao Chen, Qian Guo, Shaorui Zhou. Liner alliance shipping network design model with shippers' choice inertia and empty container relocation[J]. Electronic Research Archive, 2023, 31(9): 5509-5540. doi: 10.3934/era.2023280

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Abstract

Liner companies have responded to escalating trade conflicts and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by forming alliances and implementing streamlined approaches to manage empty containers, which has strengthened the resilience of their supply chains. Meanwhile, shippers have grown more sensitive during these turbulent times. Motivated by the market situation, we investigate a liner alliance shipping network design problem considering the choice inertia of shippers and empty container relocation. To address this problem, we propose a bilevel programming model. The upper model aims to maximize the alliance's profit by optimizing the alliance's shipping network and fleet design scheme. The lower model focuses on optimizing the slot allocation scheme and the empty container relocation scheme. To ensure the sustainable operation of the alliance, we develop an inverse optimization model to allocate profits among alliance members. Furthermore, we design a differential evolution metaheuristic algorithm to solve the model. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm, numerical experiments are conducted using actual shipping data from the Asia-Western Europe shipping route. The results confirm the validity of the proposed model and algorithm, which can serve as a crucial decision-making reference for the daily operations of a liner shipping alliance.

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