Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Arslan, A.M.
Author-Name-Last: Arslan
Author-Name-First: Alp
Author-Name: Agatz, N.A.H.
Author-Name-Last: Agatz
Author-Name-First: Niels
Author-Name: Kroon, L.G.
Author-Name-Last: Kroon
Author-Name-First: Leo
Author-Name: Zuidwijk, R.A.
Author-Name-Last: Zuidwijk
Author-Name-First: Rob
Title: Crowdsourced Delivery: A Dynamic Pickup and Delivery Problem with Ad-hoc Drivers
Abstract: The trend towards shorter delivery lead-times reduces operational efficiency and increases transportation costs for internet retailers. Mobile technology, however, creates new opportunities to organize the last-mile. In this paper, we study the concept of crowdsourced delivery that aims to use excess capacity on journeys that already take place to make deliveries. We consider a peer-to-peer platform that automatically creates matches between parcel delivery tasks and ad-hoc drivers. The platform also operates a fleet of backup vehicles to serve the tasks that cannot be served by the ad-hoc drivers. The matching of tasks, drivers and backup vehicles gives rise to a new variant of the dynamic pick-up and delivery problem. We propose a rolling horizon framework and develop an exact solution approach to solve the various subproblems. In order to investigate the potential benefit of crowdsourced delivery, we conduct a wide range of computational experiments. The experiments provide insights into the viability of crowdsourced delivery under various assumptions about the environment and the behavior of the ad-hoc drivers. The results suggest that the use of ad-hoc drivers has the potential to make the last-mile more cost-efficient and can reduce the system-wide vehicle-miles.
Length: 32
Creation-Date: 2016-02-02
File-URL: https://repub.eur.nl/pub/79743/ERS-2016-004-LIS_20160905.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Series: RePEc:ems:eureri
Number: ERS-2016-003-LIS
Keywords: crowdsourced delivery, pickup and delivery problem, ad-hoc drivers
Handle: RePEc:ems:eureri:79743