Last-Mile Shared Delivery: A Discrete Sequential Packing Approach

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cao, Junyu; Olvera-Cravioto, Mariana; Shen, Zuo-Jun (max)
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• 刊物名称: MATHEMATICS OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0364-765X
• DOI: 10.1287/moor.2019.1039
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 1466-1497
• 关键词: vehicle; DESIGN

摘要

We propose a model for optimizing the last-mile delivery of n packages from a distribution center to their final recipients, using a strategy that combines the use of ride-sharing platforms (e.g., Uber or Lyft) with traditional in-house van delivery systems. The main objective is to compute the optimal reward offered to private drivers for each of the n packages such that the total expected cost of delivering all packages is minimized. Our technical approach is based on the formulation of a discrete sequential packing problem, in which bundles of packages are picked up from the warehouse at random times during the interval [0, T]. Our theoretical results include both exact and asymptotic (as n ->infinity) expressions for the expected number of packages that are picked up by time T. They are closely related to the classical Renyi's parking/packing problem. Our proposed framework is scalable with the number of packages.