Modeling heterogeneous fleet vehicle allocation problem with emissions considerations

Abstract

Aims: This study proposes a bi-objective linear integer programming model for heterogeneous fleet VAP with emissions considerations. Profit maximization and emissions minimization objectives are employed to handle economic and environmental sustainability purposes. Background: Our literature survey shows that there is no model for the heterogeneous fleet VAP with emissions considerations that simultaneously consider vehicle heterogeneity, penalty costs for unmet demands, and emissions from transportation operations. Objective: The model is employed to also make several scenario analyses on sustainable freight logistics management to understand the trade-offs among economic and environmental objectives. In freight transportation problems, decision-makers need to be able to maintain profitability and to reduce emissions. Methods: In this study, a bi-objective linear integer programming model is proposed for a heterogeneous fleet Vehicle Allocation Problem (VAP) with emissions considerations encountered in the field of sustainable freight transportation. Results: In the numerical analyses, various practical assumptions that can be confronted by decision-makers in real life are discussed. In each analysis, total profit and emissions amounts are revealed along with several other KPIs. The results of the analyses provided in this study could also be useful in terms of understanding the relations among pillars of sustainability in VAPs. Conclusion: It is thought that the proposed model has the potential to aid decision-making processes in sustainable logistics management. In the base case analyses, the total profit obtained under profit maximization is about nine times higher than that obtained under emissions minimization. When the aim is to minimize emissions, the total emissions are found to be nearly one-tenth of that of profit maximization. Supported by also additional scenario analyses, it can be concluded that it might not economically viable to be environmentally-friendly for companies. Therefore, companies have to be encouraged or forced to take environmentally and socially responsible actions through legislation. The analyses demonstrated that various legislative policies on emissions may affect the transportation plans differently in such vehicle allocation systems. © 2021 Kazanç et al.