Increased transport efficiency using shared depots and transfers for collaborative freight

This thesis focuses on transport efficiency in supply chains. Transport is a major cost especially in Australia and has a significant impact on the environment. Transport efficiency can be improved by optimisation of routing and scheduling in a supply chain or by integrating components of different supply chains. This thesis addresses both forms of transport efficiency. A core driver of the research is the introduction of shared depots that allow multiple logistics companies to combine resources. By designing improved vehicle routes to effectively use these shared depots a sharp reduction in the number of truck kilometres can be achieved. The two optimisation problems have never been addressed in an integrated way. Typically depot placement is performed before vehicle routing for a single supply chain. Finding solutions to both optimisation problems in an integrated way is a novel challenge because the techniques for depot placement and vehicle routing techniques are very different.