Reliable container supply chain under disruption

Area of Science:

• Operations Research
• Supply Chain Management
• Logistics

Background:

• Container supply chains face significant disruptions from rare and irregular uncertainties.
• Effective management of empty container flow is critical for network reliability.
• Existing models may not adequately address the proactive management of network disruptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a reliable formulation for container network flow problems incorporating disruption.
• To implement an empty container management strategy using integer linear programming.
• To analyze the impact of maritime and hinterland disruptions on supply capability.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of a reliable container network flow problem using binomial coefficients to model disruption uncertainty.
• Implementation of an integer linear programming model for empty container management.
• Development of a non-disruptive model based on a deterministic, best-case scenario for comparative analysis.
• Numerical illustrations and sensitivity analyses to assess disruption impacts and costs.

Main Results:

• Disruption costs surge significantly with increasing risk if maritime and hinterland disruptions are unmanaged.
• Maritime disruptions are found to be more detrimental to container supply capability than hinterland disruptions.
• Proposed strategies can be completely interrupted if critical disruption thresholds are violated.

Conclusions:

• Proactive disruption management is essential for maintaining reliable container supply capability.
• Implementing robust empty container management strategies can mitigate disruption impacts.
• High-risk regions require prioritized proactive measures to ensure supply chain stability.