The model of selecting multimodal technologies for the transport of perishable products

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to provide an original model of selecting multimodal technologies for the transport of perishable goods. The model in particular refers to the transportability of cargoes. The features of cargoes that have the most impact on transportability were specified. Formal representations of the key elements of the model were presented and characterized, including: perishable cargoes, form of transported goods (solid, liquid, etc.), means of handling (including loading devices and transport means), transport routes, categories of human labor, multimodal technologies and transportation tasks. A formal representation of decision variables, as well as constrains and a criterion function were provided. The model bases on two main solution assessment criteria: cost criterion and cargo safety criterion. A cargo safety criterion in the model is composed of 18 partial criterion functions. Each of these functions directly affects one safety aspect of the transported cargo. The exemplary partial criteria of cargo safety included in the model are: acceptable transport time, minimum or maximum temperature in the cargo’s direct surroundings, resistance to mechanical damage. In order to present a practical application of the presented mathematical model the paper shows also an example of selecting one of the multimodal technologies for the transport of perishable goods from the set of pre-defined types of multimodal transport technologies. The developed method uses different elements of the mathematical model provided in the paper, depending on the considered problem (including characteristics of cargo and their transport forms). For a significant group of perishable cargoes, it is not required to consider all defined criteria associated with cargo safety. The developed model allows for the accurate selection of transport technology for perishable cargoes for most transportation tasks. It should help to increase the efficiency of selection of multimodal transport technology for perishable products. The selected technology will then be characterized by the lowest transport cost and will ensure the safety of transported cargoes, as well as will meet other requirements determined by the transport task. As part of further work, it is possible to develop proposed method by considering additional characteristics of perishable cargoes.

Optimization of international road transportation of cargoes in the management of enterprises of agricultural sector and road transport enterprises

“…Paper [9] is similar, in which the model includes such a factor as an acceptable transport time. Study [10] considers temperature and time conditions at each stage of the supply chain, that is, the study offers the choice of the optimal time with temperature conditions.…”

“…An option for overcoming the corresponding difficulties may be the model proposed in paper [9], which is based on two main criteria for assessing the solution: the cost criterion and the cargo safety criterion. The merit of this model is that it includes such factors as acceptable transportation time, minimum or maximum temperature in the direct environment of the cargo, and resistance to mechanical damage.…”

An Integrated EPLOS Database as a Tool Supporting TSL Companies

“…It consequently leads to economic benefits. There is a high potential for developing EPLOS by adding decision supporting models which cover various areas of material flow management and supply chain configuration to the system (see [24][25][26][27][28][29]). The EPLOS system can be a significant support for macroeconomic traffic models, such as [30][31][32].…”

Contemporary problems and challenges of sustainable distribution of perishable cargoes: Case study of Polish cold port stores

“…Sustainable distribution of goods is influenced by different factors, including technical and technological (Leleń & Wasiak, 2019), ecological/environmental (Abrutytu et al, 2014;Accorsi et al, 2017;Garnier et al, 2019), economic/financial (Benali & Feki, 2020;Brahmi et al, 2020), human factor (Filina-Dawidowicz, 2014;Santos et al, 2018), organizational (Kush et al, 2019) and other. It should be noted that appropriate policy rules and regulations should be developed to increase food safety and eliminate food losses and waste (FAO, 2019;Sonnino et al, 2014).…”