Este trabalho foi motivado pela necessidade de otimização nos serviços de entregas urbanas combinados com o alto custo de implantação e customização da maioria dos pacotes disponíveis comercialmente, que muitas empresas se defrontam, na expectativa de obtenção de respostas rápidas e eficientes, numa base diária. Geralmente a utilização destes software requerem grandes investimentos de tempo e recursos. Os custos operacionais do transporte de cargas têm experimentado um aumento expressivo devido a fatores que, de uma forma ou de outra, impedem o fluxo eficiente dos veículos na rede, tomando evidente a necessidade de ferramentas flexíveis e efetivas. Vários estudos encontrados na literatura revelaram que fatores como restrições de circulação e velocidades nos arcos têm contribuído para aumentar distâncias de percursos e a frota de veículos. Geralmente, estas rotas são planejadas de forma simplificada, utilizando um fator de correção, que fornece uma solução aproximada. Um SIG foi objeto de estudo na operação de entregas urbanas, de forma a atingir os objetivos deste trabalho. O estudo de caso abordou os serviços de entregas de bebidas na cidade de São Carlos, onde foi aplicada a heurística de economias de Clarke & Wright implementadas no software TransCAD 3.2. Foram feitas diversas simulações, comparando os resultados das distâncias em rede com os valores das distâncias estimadas, como também com as distâncias percorridas pela empresa distribuidora. / This research was motivated by the necessity of optimization of urban delivery services and the high cost of implementation and customization of most routing packages commercially available. Moreover, the companies expect to obtain fast and efficient answers on a daily base. The use of some routing software generally requires significant investments of time and other resources. The operational costs of freight transport have had a remarkable increase due to factors which somehow restraint the efficient flow of the vehicles in a network, leading to the need of flexible and effective tools. Several studies in the literature have revealed that factors such as restrictions of circulation and speed on network contribute to increase the travel distances and the fleet size. Generally, these routes are planned in a simplified way, using a correction factor to get an approximated solution. This research has considered the use of Geographical Information Systems as a tool to achieve better results for routing delivery services. The case study was the delivery service of beverages in the city of São Carlos. The Clarke & Wright\'s heuristic of economies was irnplemented in the TransCAD 3.2 software. Several simulations were carried out, comparing the results of route length, considering network and estimated distances, as well as the real one traveled by the delivery company\'s vehicles.

Manufacturing outsourcing in the U.S. has never been stronger than it is today. Increased outsourcing has led to significant changes in the design of the retail distribution network. While the traditional distribution network had the manufacturing plants supplying goods to the retail stores directly, the off-shore manufacturing has increased the network's demand for transportation and warehousing to deliver the goods. Thus, most companies have a complex distribution network with several import and regional distribution centers (RDC). In this thesis, we study an integrated facility location and inventory allocation problem for designing a distribution network with multiple national (import) distribution centers (NDC) and retailers. The key decisions are where to locate the RDCs and how much inventory to hold at the different locations such that the total network cost is minimized under a pre-defined operational rule for the distribution of goods. In particular, the inventory cost analysis is based on the continuous review batch ordering policy and the base-stock policy. Both Type-I (probability of stock-outs) and Type-II (fill-rate) service level measures are used in the analysis. Two different models are presented in this thesis for solving the integrated facility location-inventory allocation problem. The first model, continuous approximation (CA), assumes the distribution network to be located in a continuous region and replaces the discrete store locations with a store density function. The second model is a discrete representation of the problem as a mixed integer programming problem. Both the models take a nonlinear form and solution techniques are developed using the theory of nonlinear programming and linear reformulation of nonlinear problems. The goal of the first part of the thesis is to model the problem using a modified CA approach and an iterative solution scheme is presented to solve it. The main contribution of this work lies in developing a refined CA modeling technique when the discrete data cannot be modeled by a continuous function. In addition, the numerical analysis suggests that the total network cost is significantly lower in the case of the integrated model as compared with the non-integrated model. It is also shown that the regular CA approach leads to a solution which is inferior to the solution obtained by the modified CA approach. Our analysis shows that the type of service measure used affects the network design. In the second part of the thesis, the problem is modeled as a nonlinear mixed integer program and a linear reformulation solution technique is proposed to obtain a lower bound on the original problem. Computational results are presented for small problem instances. We conclude this part of the thesis by presenting an integrated model when a base stock inventory policy is used. A drop-decomposition heuristic is proposed to solve this problem.

<p>Introduction</p><p>An increased globalization and competition has forced companies to change their view on the supply chain, from supply chain management to demand chain management.</p><p>The company Martela is experiencing an increased competition and a declining market. They have started a program for change in order to reclaim market shares. The goal of one of the sub-projects is to increase the customers’ confidence on Martela in order to increase customer satisfaction.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>The purpose of this study is to illustrate the strong significance of physical distribution on customer satisfaction.</p><p>Method</p><p>We have used a qualitative method. We have gathered information for this paper by means of discussions, interviews and data processing of delivery and sales. It has been an iterative process in which we have moved from empiric data to theory and then back, in order to analyze the result. A significant part of this paper are interpretations, in which the theory as well as our background had an influence in the analysis and the dis-cussion.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Customer satisfaction plays an important role in order to compete in the office furniture market. One step towards making the customer satisfied is to have a satisfactory physi-cal distribution. The conditions for a good distribution and satisfied customers can be created by focusing on damage-free deliveries on time along with the relevant informa-tion.</p>

Introduction An increased globalization and competition has forced companies to change their view on the supply chain, from supply chain management to demand chain management. The company Martela is experiencing an increased competition and a declining market. They have started a program for change in order to reclaim market shares. The goal of one of the sub-projects is to increase the customers’ confidence on Martela in order to increase customer satisfaction. Purpose The purpose of this study is to illustrate the strong significance of physical distribution on customer satisfaction. Method We have used a qualitative method. We have gathered information for this paper by means of discussions, interviews and data processing of delivery and sales. It has been an iterative process in which we have moved from empiric data to theory and then back, in order to analyze the result. A significant part of this paper are interpretations, in which the theory as well as our background had an influence in the analysis and the dis-cussion. Conclusions Customer satisfaction plays an important role in order to compete in the office furniture market. One step towards making the customer satisfied is to have a satisfactory physi-cal distribution. The conditions for a good distribution and satisfied customers can be created by focusing on damage-free deliveries on time along with the relevant informa-tion.

Due to the significant cost of transport in the sugar industry, a model, named FastTrack, was developed to investigate infrastructure planning opportunities. The model mathematically incorporates road construction and maintenance costs, terrain and land-use maps, vehicle performance specifications and annual sugarcane volumes to determine the most cost effective route, per vehicle type, from a production region to a mill. Route planning using geographical information systems (GIS) is a standard approach for determining the optimum alignment for pipelines, roads and canals. Theory of this approach was reviewed to create a foundation for the development of FastTrack. A small portion of the Noodsberg sugar mill region in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands was selected as a case study area to test the capabilities of FastTrack. A start location was identified as a natural flow point for 70 000 tons of sugarcane hauled from an area south of the mill. Currently this volume is transported along a 9.3 km stretch of national road from the start location to the sugar mill, while the Euclidean distance is approximately 7 km. Three vehicle types, differing in payload, fuel consumption and road speed were assessed. Two common and currently utilised vehicles, the tractor hilo and interlink combinations, were aligned by FastTrack along existing national roads. A financial penalty for driving on national roads was assumed for the third vehicle type considered, land trains, as these are currently not permitted to operate on national roads in South Africa. This high bulk vehicle was selected to test the capabilities of FastTrack and to identify if cost savings could be realised through increased consignment capacity as has been achieved in Australia, Malawi and Brazil. Utilising the model a new and more direct theoretical route was generated for the land train with a length of 7.4 km. Existing farm roads which would require upgrading made up 34 % of this proposed route. An economic analysis was conducted and showed that under current conditions, the private route generated by FastTrack for land train use, would be the most cost effective, with a system cost of R 57.50 t" . The tractor hilo and interlink had system costs of R 59.58 t" and R 60.98 t"1 respectively. Repeating the economic analysis with projected fuel prices indentified that the cost saving advantage of the land train system over the other two vehicle configurations increases with increasing fuel costs. A rigorous validation process, including a sensitivity analysis of results from FastTrack, revealed that the model performs predictably under a wide range of input conditions and could be a valuable tool for decision making in the sugar industry. However, further research is required to combine more economic and logistical aspects into FastTrack and to increase its usability. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

In this thesis, we investigate synergies between participants in transportation and distribution systems and we explore collaborative approaches to exploit these synergies to reduce transportation and distribution costs. We study collaboration in two environments: truckload transportation and vendor management inventory replenishment. The first part of the thesis addresses the cost allocation problem of a collaborative truckload transportation procurement network. We study a logistics network where shippers identify collaborative routes with few empty truck movements to negotiate better rates with a common carrier. We investigate how to allocate the cost savings of these routes among the members of the collaboration. In the second part of the thesis, we investigate collaboration opportunities among carriers. When several carriers have to satisfy truckload transportation requests from various shippers, they may reduce their transportation costs by exchanging requests. First, we focus on computing the minimum cost to satisfy all requests. Next, we develop and analyze various exchange mechanisms that allow carriers to exchange requests in order to realize some of the potential costs savings. In the last part of the thesis, we study VMI replenishment. Simple cost allocation methods ignore synergies between the customers, due to their locations, usage rates, and storage capacities. As a result, the price charged to a customer for distribution does not represent the actual cost of serving that customer. We design a mechanism capable of computing a cost-to-serve for each customer that properly accounts for the synergies among customers.

This dissertation contains two topics in operations research. The first topic is to design a distribution network to facilitate the repeated movement of shipments from many origins to many destinations. A method is developed to estimate transportation costs as a function of the number of terminals and moreover to determine the best number of terminals. The second topic is to study dynamics of a buyer's behavior when the buyer can buy goods through both option contracts and a spot market and the buyer attempts to learn the probability distribution of the spot price. The buyer estimates the spot price distribution as though it is exogenous. However, the spot price distribution is not exogenous but is endogenous because it is affected by the buyer's decision regarding option purchases.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: United National Breweries (SA) (PTY) Limited (UNB) has been manufacturing, marketing and distributing sorghum beer for the last twenty years. Sorghum beer has a short shelf life of five days and hence requires an integrated and efficient distribution system to back its production and marketing. Though the company has changed owners twice during this period, it has retained its knowledge base. The company has outgrown most of its competitors over the last four years, however in order to maintain its leadership, it has identified better market penetration through improved distribution as a major area of opportunity. Almost seventy percent of UNB products are sold and consumed in the townships. These products are almost exclusively consumed by black South Africans. The analysis done by the company on the basis of population and market segmentation indicates that the maximum opportunity of product growth lies in townships most of which are affected by high level of crime. KwaMashu is one such township in Durban. B B Bakeries (BBB) has been manufacturing, marketing and distributing bread in most provinces of South Africa. They are part of Premier Foods. Though their business has been growing in KwaZulu Natal for the last three years, they have been focussing on improving distribution in these markets. Bread, like sorghum has a short shelf life and hence depends heavily on an effective and efficient distribution system. New product variations are also being explored to gain more market share. The aim of this study project was the development of an effective physical distribution system for short shelf life products in crime affected KwaMashu township. “An analysis of the external environment is undertaken to discover the opportunities and threats that are evolving and that need to be addressed by the organization” (Drummond & Ensor; 2005: 33). The external environment for analysis was broken down into three key steps, each becoming more specific to the organization. The first step was an analysis of the macro- environmental influences that the organization faces. This was followed by an examination of the competitive environment the organization operates within and for this Porter’ five forces model was chosen. Finally the integration of such inputs which emerged out of the social environment, business understanding and empirical data was done to come up with a comprehensive strategy. The departure point was the analysis of the characteristics of the environment prevailing in the township. These included study of crime, inputs from police and community policing forum, needs of informal businesses, role of locals to the trade, their possible impact on thefts and hijackings and changes if any envisaged in the near future. The outcome of the study addresses the penetration of the retail segment despite the crime environment. It had to take risk to vehicles, staff and cash while planning distribution while ensuring that the company maintains a hold on the retail market to a reasonable degree. Company’ future growth plans which included new product introductions also had to be taken into account. Out of the possible alternatives, the outsourcing of distribution to local vendor drivers was recommended. Practical guidelines regarding the implementation of such a system keeping in view the unique environment, in which business is conducted, were discussed. Recommendations were made keeping such challenges in view while also supporting the company’ current and future plans. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: United National Breweries (SA) (PTY) Beperk (UNB) vervaardig, bemark en versprei sorghum bier vir die afgelope twintig jaar. Sorghum bier het ‘n kort rakleeftyd van vyf dae and vereis dus ‘n geïntegreerde en effektiewe verspreidingstelsel om die produksie en bemarking te rugsteun. Alhoewel die maatskappy twee keer van eienaars verwissel het oor die afgelope vier jaar, het die kennisbasis behoue gebly. Die maatskappy het die meeste van sy kompetisie ontgroei oor die afgelope vier jaar maar om voor te bly is markpenetrasie deur verbeterde verspreiding as ‘n belangrike geleentheid gedefiniëer. Byna sewentig persent van UNB se produkte word verkoop en verbruik in swart woongebiede. Hierdie produkte word byna uitsluitlik verbruik deur swart Suid- Afrikaners. Die analise wat die maatskappy on die basis van die bevolking en marksegmentasie gedoen het dui aan dat die maksimum groeipotensiaal in juis in dié swart woonbuurte lê wat deur hoë vlakke van kriminaliteit geaffekteer word. KwaMashu is een so ‘n woonbuurt in Durban. BB Bakeries (BBB) produseer, bemark en versprei brood in die meeste provinsies van Suid-Afrika. Die maatskappy is deel van Premier Foods. Alhoewel die besigheid in KwaZulu Natal gegroei het oor die afgelope drie jaar, het hulle ook gefokus op die verbetering van verspreiding in hierdie markte. Brood is ‘n kommoditeit wat net soos sorghum bier, ‘n kort rakleeftyd het en dus afhanklik is van effektiewe en suksesvolle verspeidingsisteme. Nuwe produktvariasie word ook ondersoek ten einde groter markaandeel te verkry. Die doel van die studie is om die ontwikkeling van fisiese verspreidingsisteme vir kort rakleeftydprodukte in die kriminaliteit geaffekteerde KwaMashu woongebied. “An analysis of the external environment is undertaken in order to discover the opportunities and threats that are evolving and that need to be addressed by the organization” (Drummond & Ensor 2005:33). ‘n Analise van die eksterne omgewing moet afgebreek word in drie sleutel stappe waarvan elkeen telkens meer spesifiek op die organisasie toegespits word. Die eerste stap is die analise van die makroekonomiese faktore wat die organisasie beïnvloed. Dit word opgevolg deur ‘n ondersoek van die kompetisie (mikro) omgewing waarbinne die organisasie sake doen. Hirvoor is Porter se bekende ‘five forces’ model gekies. Laastens word ‘n spesifieke kompeterende analise gedoen waarin die kragte wat voorspruit uit die sosiale omgewing, besigheidsbenadering en empiriese date geintegreer word vir ‘n omvattende strategie. Die vertrekpunt is die analise van die eienskappe van die omstandighede in ter sake swart woongebiede. Hierdie sluit die studie van kriminaliteit met polisie, gemeenskap en polisiëringsforums-perspektiewe, die behoeftes van informele besighede met die rol van plaaslike handelaars en hul impak op diefstal en skakings asook veranderings wat in die nabye toekoms geantisipeer word. Die resultaat van die studie het implikasies vir die deurdringingskrag van die kleinhandel ten spyte van die kriminaliteit in die omgewing. Risiko ten opsigte van voertuie, personeel en kontant moet in ag geneem word tydens verspreidingsbeplanning. Daar moet verseker word dat die maatskappy sy houvas op die kleinhandel mark tot ‘n redelike mate behou. Daarmee word die maatskappy se toekomstige groeiplanne met die invoer van nuwe produkte ondersteun. Van die moontlike alternatiewe word die uitkontraktering van plaaslike afleweraars aanbeveel. Praktiese riglyne vir die implimentering van sodanige sisteme word bespreek en aanbeveel in terme van die maatskappy se huidige en toekomstige beplanning.

Submitted by Maria de Lourdes Mariano (lmariano@ufscar.br) on 2017-02-24T18:09:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 SOTO_DE_LA_VEGA_Diego_2014.pdf: 73992036 bytes, checksum: fdf7a66d32485844fff894b41112d2b1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria de Lourdes Mariano (lmariano@ufscar.br) on 2017-02-24T18:10:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 SOTO_DE_LA_VEGA_Diego_2014.pdf: 73992036 bytes, checksum: fdf7a66d32485844fff894b41112d2b1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria de Lourdes Mariano (lmariano@ufscar.br) on 2017-02-24T18:10:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 SOTO_DE_LA_VEGA_Diego_2014.pdf: 73992036 bytes, checksum: fdf7a66d32485844fff894b41112d2b1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-24T18:10:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SOTO_DE_LA_VEGA_Diego_2014.pdf: 73992036 bytes, checksum: fdf7a66d32485844fff894b41112d2b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-01 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho apresenta uma abordagem multi-metodológica de otimização e análise multicritério para tratar o problema integrado de distribuição e estoque considerando múltiplos modos de transporte de carga. O sistema analisado fundamenta-se na rede de distribuição de uma empresa no setor de telecomunicações, cujas operações são típicas do setor. A rede de distribuição é composta por um conjunto de centros de distribuição que atendem as demandas de centros de distribuição regionais sobre um horizonte de planejamento de médio prazo. No transporte da mercadoria, os modos de transporte de carga completa (Full truckload -FTL) e fracionada (Less Than Truckload -LTL) foram considerados. Para uma carga completa, um valor fixo é constituído em função da capacidade do veículo utilizado, enquanto que para a carga fracionada, o custo é baseado na quantidade embarcada e na distância percorrida. As decisões do planejamento da distribuição neste problema envolvem definir as quantidades e datas de envio desde cada origem para cada destino indicando o modo de transporte de carga utilizado, para carga completa deve se definir ainda o tipo de veículo, considerando uma frota heterogênea em custo e capacidade. Os estoques de segurança em cada centro de distribuição regional também devem ser determinados em função da variabilidade da demanda e dos tempos de atendimento, bem como o nível de serviço desejado. Estas decisões devem ser definidas de modo a minimizar os custos associados a transporte e estoque, e levando em conta critérios relevantes para o problema de difícil quantificação tais como: facilidade de rastreamento, histórico de desempenho, segurança da carga, disposição para negociar os fretes, serviços de documentação e faturamento, entre outros. Uma formulação matemática específica foi utilizada para geração de soluções e uma estrutura decisória construída através dos métodos SMART (Simple MultiAttribute Ranking Technique) e AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) permitiu avaliar estas alternativas. Um caso real foi abordado em uma empresa brasileira para testar a eficiência da abordagem em situações reais. Como resultado, a abordagem proposta permitiu analisar com robustez a decisão mais adequada segundo as preferências e aversão ao risco inerentes dos decisores da empresa. Neste sentido, conclui-se que a preferência dos decisores, direcionou a metodologia na proposição de um planejamento focado principalmente na eficiência, a rápida entrega e na confiabilidade dos tempos de atendimento. / Este trabalho apresenta uma abordagem multi-metodológica de otimização e análise multicritério para tratar o problema integrado de distribuição e estoque considerando múltiplos modos de transporte de carga. O sistema analisado fundamenta-se na rede de distribuição de uma empresa no setor de telecomunicações, cujas operações são típicas do setor. A rede de distribuição é composta por um conjunto de centros de distribuição que atendem as demandas de centros de distribuição regionais sobre um horizonte de planejamento de médio prazo. No transporte da mercadoria, os modos de transporte de carga completa (Full truckload -FTL) e fracionada (Less Than Truckload -LTL) foram considerados. Para uma carga completa, um valor fixo é constituído em função da capacidade do veículo utilizado, enquanto que para a carga fracionada, o custo é baseado na quantidade embarcada e na distância percorrida. As decisões do planejamento da distribuição neste problema envolvem definir as quantidades e datas de envio desde cada origem para cada destino indicando o modo de transporte de carga utilizado, para carga completa deve se definir ainda o tipo de veículo, considerando uma frota heterogênea em custo e capacidade. Os estoques de segurança em cada centro de distribuição regional também devem ser determinados em função da variabilidade da demanda e dos tempos de atendimento, bem como o nível de serviço desejado. Estas decisões devem ser definidas de modo a minimizar os custos associados a transporte e estoque, e levando em conta critérios relevantes para o problema de difícil quantificação tais como: facilidade de rastreamento, histórico de desempenho, segurança da carga, disposição para negociar os fretes, serviços de documentação e faturamento, entre outros. Uma formulação matemática específica foi utilizada para geração de soluções e uma estrutura decisória construída através dos métodos SMART (Simple MultiAttribute Ranking Technique) e AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) permitiu avaliar estas alternativas. Um caso real foi abordado em uma empresa brasileira para testar a eficiência da abordagem em situações reais. Como resultado, a abordagem proposta permitiu analisar com robustez a decisão mais adequada segundo as preferências e aversão ao risco inerentes dos decisores da empresa. Neste sentido, conclui-se que a preferência dos decisores, direcionou a metodologia na proposição de um planejamento focado principalmente na eficiência, a rápida entrega e na confiabilidade dos tempos de atendimento.