SIMULATION OF CARGO DELIVERY BY ROAD CARRIER: CASE STUDY OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY

Abstract

Purpose. To develop a method of simulation of the process of execution of random orders, which would allow substantiating a set of decisions of the transport company “Trans-Service” Ltd. The decisions concern the use of their own rolling stock, or the involvement of leased vehicles, as well as the rational sequence of orders. Methodology. A simulation model of transport cycles with discrete time is developed. The smallest indivisible duration of a cycle is one working shift. The incoming flow of orders is reflected by the random coordinates of the point of departure and destination of goods. The coordinates of potential orders are formed by a random number generator. Each order is set with its characteristics, which include: point of departure and delivery point, delivery volume, average delivery time, group size, time window. At each step of route planning, a set of orders is known, which are characterized by their compatibility. Rules for selecting orders and distributing them among existing vehicles have been developed. An algorithm and a computer program for simulation have been developed. Findings. Simulation was performed for 30 calendar days, when incoming order flows are stationary. The number of simulation steps is appropriate. The simulation was performed with 20 repetitions. The results are presented by the average value of repetitions. The dependences of the number of orders received, executed, and rejected by the carrier, as well as the number of their own vehicles used by the enterprise are obtained. We also received the number of orders that are not fulfilled by Company’s own transport, but are accepted for execution with the help of leased fleet. The allowable order compatibility ratio varied for each series of experiments. The corresponding time indicators of cooperation under conditions of different intensity of the input flow were obtained. To perform simulation experiments with the initial data, which were observed in the transport company “Trans-Service” Ltd, Ukraine, an array of initial data was formed. Originality. For the first time, an indicator of organizational and technological compatibility of orders was used to select orders to be serviced by the transport company during simulation, which made it possible to select orders from the stochastic flow and form a rational sequence of their execution. Practical value. The obtained results are useful in developing a freight plan based on the data obtained on freight orders and the status and capabilities of partners.