An iterative heuristics expert system for enhancing consolidation shipment process in logistics operations

Abstract

Shipment consolidation is a laborious and, sometimes, tedious task for airfreight forwarders since there is enormous information to be considered and literally quite a number of practical constraints to be fulfilled. In Hong Kong, the unique forwarding operation and rapid cargo flow has further complicated the consolidating process in such a way that local forwarders are almost impossible to achieve the best selection of logistics workflow through the functions of human brain solely. However, none of the currently available intelligent logistics system is able to aid forwarders in making decisions on this crucial operation through the entire supply chain. This paper presents an Iterative Heuristics Expert System (IHES) for solving shipment consolidation problem, adopting rule-based reasoning to provide expert advice for cargo allocation and subsequently applying container loading specific heuristics to support the cargo loading process. Afterwards, the iterative improvement mechanism of IHES undertakes all outcomes until the most optimal solution is found. A presentation of the concept of IHES and its development are included in this paper with a case study conducted in Oriented Delivery Limited (a Hong Kong-based company) to validate its feasibility.