Delivery Time Windows for Road Freight Carriers and Forwarders—Influence of Delivery Time Windows on the Costs of Road Transport Services

Abstract

Time window constraints have an increasing influence on the cost structure and thus on business models of road freight carriers and forwarders. Caused by the extensive use of slot management systems by warehouse operators the planning and execution of road transport services gain complexity. In order to quantify this impact, the financial implications of time window constraints for road freight carriers and forwarders are investigated. Based on a simulation model different time window specifications (length and temporal position) are evaluated with regard to the corresponding costs of road freight carriers and forwarders. The results show the quantitative effects of time window constraints on the cost structure of road freight carriers and forwarders and highlight the corresponding new challenges arising from the ongoing enforcement of slot management systems.