The use of shipping containers for the transport of goods has become indispensable and a crucial factor for globalization by providing inexpensive and safe transport opportunities. It is expected that the number of globally operating containers will increase in the near future. Despite a high...

Social media enable companies to assess consumers' opinions, complaints and needs. The systematic and data-driven analysis of social media to generate business value is summarized under the term Social Media Analytics which includes statistical, network-based and language-based approaches. We...

Initialization of metaheuristics is a crucial topic that lacks a comprehensive and systematic review of the state of the art. Providing such a review requires in‐depth study and knowledge of the advances and challenges in the broader field of metaheuristics, especially with regard to...

We propose an option contract model for the leasing of containers. In an option contract, the shipping company commits to order a quantity of containers from the leasing company and has the right to modify its order at a later stage, according to its actual requirement. Under this scheme, the...

Real-world experiences prove that supply chains may suffer great losses or even complete break downs after catastrophic events. However, extra costs after great disasters are usually not incorporated in the supply chain costs in the existing literature. The aim of this study is to design a...