Minimizing the completion time of the transfer operations in a central parcel consolidation terminal with unequal-batch-size inbound trailers

This paper addresses the scheduling of inbound trailers to unload docks at central parcel consolidation terminals in the parcel delivery industry, an industry that operates in a time-critical environment. The scheduling function can have a significant impact on the amount of time required to unload the inbound trailers and sort and load the parcels to the outbound trailers. This problem is known as the parcel hub scheduling problem (PHSP). To solve the PHSP, a simulation-based scheduling approach with an embedded genetic algorithm is proposed. The results show that the proposed scheduling approach is able to reduce the amount of time required to unload the inbound trailers by approximately 3.5 percent compared to a previously developed algorithm and about 16.1 percent compared to an approach that is representative of current industry practice. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.