"Just-in-Time" (JIT) inventory systems are currently very popular in practice and in the operations management literature. These writings have generally assumed that all shipments are done by motor freight. We feel, however, that this assumption can be misleading. The main thrusts of a JIT...

Shipment consolidation is a logistics strategy that combines two or more orders or shipments so that a larger quantity can be dispatched on a same vehicle. This paper discusses a discrete-time Markovian decision process (MDP) approach for determining when to release consolidated loads. We assume...

A program of freight consolidation is a systematic attempt to decrease total transportation cost between a given origin and destination. Fewer shipments of larger weight are dispatched, while recognizing the inventory carrying cost of holding the first-arriving orders before dispatching the...

Many approaches to the problem of arranging customer orders for cutting or corrugation have focused on the minimization of trim waste. This views the corrugator more or less in isolation. When downstream machines or customer due-dates exist, however, customer service may suffer from the desire...

It is well appreciated by logistics professionals that combining several small orders into one larger load can reduce the total transportation cost to the shipper. Logistics specialists all recognize that such a decision to consolidate must take into account the shipper’s increased inventory...

"Just-in-Time" (JIT) inventory systems are currently very popular in practice and in the operations management literature. These writings have generally assumed that all shipments are done by motor freight. We feel, however, that this assumption can be misleading. The main thrusts of a JIT...