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Collaborative Logistics (CL) and merging operations are crucial strategies for reducing costs and improving service in transportation companies. This study proposes a model for optimizing efficiency in supply chain networks through inbound and outbound Collaborative Logistics implementation among the carriers in centralized, coordinated networks with cross-docking.

A mixed-integer non-linear programming model is developed to determine the optimal truck-goods assignment while gaining economies of scale through mixing multiple less-than-truckload (LTL) products with different weight-to-volume ratios. Unlike the previous studies that have considered Collaborative Logistics from the cost and profit-sharing perspective, the proposed model seeks to determine an appropriate form of Collaborative Logistics in the VRP.

This article shows that in a three-echelon supply chain consisting of a set of suppliers, a set of customers and a cross-docking terminal, partial collaboration among the inbound carriers and outbound carriers outperforms no/complete collaboration. This approach enhances the supply chain efficiency by minimizing the total transportation costs, the total transportation miles and the total number of trucks and maximizing fleet utilization. While addressing the four points, the role of collaborative logistics among the carriers was discussed. In a three-echelon SC consisting of a set of suppliers, a set of customers and a cross-docking terminal, partial collaboration among the inbound carriers and outbound carriers outperforms no/complete collaboration. Using a combination of experimental analysis and optimization process, it was recommended that managers be cautious that too much (full or complete) or no collaboration can result in SC performance deterioration.

The suggested approach enhances the supply chain efficiency by minimizing the total transportation costs, the total transportation miles and the total number of trucks and maximizing fleet utilization. While addressing the four points, the role of Collaborative Logistics among the carriers was discussed.

This paper aims to study a generalized type of mixed-model assembly line with multi-manned workstations where multiple workers simultaneously perform different tasks on the same product. This special kind of assembly line is usually utilized to assemble different models of large products, such as buses and trucks, on the same production line.

To solve the mixed-model multi-manned assembly line balancing problem optimally, a new mixed-integer-programming (MIP) model is presented. The proposed MIP model is nondeterministic polynomial-time (NP)-hard, and as a result, a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm is developed to find the optimal or near-optimal solution in a small amount of computation time.

The performance of the proposed algorithm is examined for several test problems in terms of solution quality and running time. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has a satisfactory performance from computational time efficiency and solution accuracy.

This research is the very first study that minimizes the number of workers and workstations simultaneously, with a higher priority set for the number of workers, in a mixed-model multi-manned assembly line setting using a novel MIP model and an SA algorithm.