A specification framework for earth-friendly logistics

Abstract

This paper describes the use of a formal approach to logistics management systems to reduce the environmental impact of logistics operations. Trucks play an essential role as carriers in modern logistics services, but collectively they emit a huge quantity of carbon dioxide. To reduce fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions resulting from transport, we must enhance the transport efficiency of trucks. The milk-run approach is one of the most effective and popular solutions to this problem. However, it tends to be too complicated to implement in a logistics management system. The framework described in this paper provides a language for specifying the routes of trucks and an order relation as a route selection mechanism. The former is formulated as process calculus and the latter selects suitable trucks according to their routes. This paper also describes a prototype implementation of the framework as a distributed logistics management system based on the use of RFID tags. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.