Chair: Luuk Veelenturf (Eindhoven University of Technology)

Title: A Simulation Study on the Applicability of Overbooking Strategies in Inland Container Transport
Speaker: Stefano Fazi (University of Groningen)

Abstract: The inland transportation of maritime containers entails the use of different modalities whose capacity is typically booked in advance. Containers may miss their scheduled departure time at a terminal for several reasons, such as delays, change of transport modes, multiple bookings pending. In those cases, it may be difficult for transport service providers to find last minute containers to fill the vacant capacity. Similarly to other industries, overbooking could potentially limit these drawbacks at the cost of a lower service level in case of actual excess of capacity in overbooked rides. However, the presence of multiple modalities may provide the required flexibility in rescheduling and limit the dissatisfaction of the shippers in case of containers in overbooking. This flexibility is known with the term “synchromodality”. In this paper, we evaluate via discrete event simulation the application of overbooking. Results show that in certain conditions overbooking can significantly increase profit and utilization of high-capacity means of transport, such as barges and trains. On the other hand, in case of high penalty costs and limited no-show, overbooking may lead to an excessive use of expensive trucks.
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Title: The current state of Synchromodality: an application of a synchromodal maturity model on case studies
Speakers: K.M.R. Alons-Hoen (University of Applied Sciences Venlo) and Ron van Duin (Fontys) 

Abstract: This article describes the current status of synchromodal transport by applying the synchromodal maturity model to several companies (case studies). These selected companies operate in different regions and in different roles: logistics service provider, shipper, forwarder, and inland operator. Accordingly the status of planning, and execution of transport, and data exchange are investigated, as well as, pricing process, decision-making power, relationship with partners, and relevant KPIs. It has  been observed that companies are more mature in the fields of KPI, data exchange, and collaboration with regards to synchromodality. Furthermore, the (un)availability of intermodal transport might restrict companies from becoming more mature. Lastly, integral pricing is applied as a pricing process when the use of intermodal is more restricted.

In cooperation with:
J.H.R. van Duin, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology
G.H.L. Somers, Fontys University of Applied Sciences Venlo
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Title: Situation Modeling for Synchronmodal Transport
Speaker: Prince Singh (Eindhoven University of Technology )

Abstract: The essence of Synchromodal Transport lies in the early detection and response to disruption events. The initial step in the detection of disruptions events is, modeling them. However, rarely has contemporary literature (over SmT) addressed modeling relevant events for SmT.

Based on my research over SmT, I propose that in addition to disruption events, situations – which these events lead to – need to studied and modeled. This will facilitate early detection and response to disruption events. In this presentation, I list relevant disruption events for SmT and the situations they lead to. Then, I use a situation modeling language to model these situations. Finally, for a more concrete representation of these situations, I use the situations models to produce pseudo code for each situation. The pseudo code provides a generic approach to model situations. By adopting a generic approach, I aim to extend the generalizability and usefulness of situation models designed by me.