Internal and external co-loading of outbound flows to increase the sustainability of transport:a case study

Abstract

This paper calculates the potential for reducing internal and external transport costs for a company with three neighboring distribution centers (DC’s), each specialized in a specific product category and each using a separate planning system. Most of the outbound flows are currently still transported by truck, with only a marginal portion transported by rail and Short Sea Shipping. One way to achieve more sustainable logistics, besides implementing a further modal shift towards more sustainable transport modes, is through aiming for further, more systematic bundling of trucked outbound freight flows, both internally within the company and externally with other shippers. In this study, two options for increased co-loading are therefore analysed. First, internal co-loading within the company with the objective to increase the fill level of the trailers/containers under current planning restrictions is studied. To this purpose, a discrete event simulation is performed to evaluate a scenario where outbound product flows are brought together in a crossdock located on site next to the three DC’s. Both internal and external transport cost savings of the resulting freight bundling potential are calculated. Secondly, the potential for external logistic cooperation with another shipper is analysed.