Using electric vehicles in urban freight distribution generates opportunities (e.g., zero emissions in urban areas) and challenges (e.g., range of electric vehicles). Their adoption implies that operators need to change the approach to freight distribution. As an example, the reduced range of an electric vehicle substantially reduces the kilometers traveled before a recharging stop. This implies a redefinition of routes, fleet size, personnel, and vehicle charging management. This research investigates the changes that operators must make when using shared charging hubs. Given the interest of logistic companies in reducing both their fixed and operating costs, the use of shared recharging hubs for electric vans and trucks constitutes a relevant applied research theme. This paper explores the pre-feasibility of some possible concrete scenarios. In more detail, the investigated scenarios involve charging hubs located in three different settings: at the depot, based on client distribution, and scattered across the area. The aim is to assess the performance of each scenario under the assumption that the position of the charging hub reflects the choices of operators on the usage of electric freight vehicles. The indicators considered for comparison are the delivery service time, the charging time and the number of routes.
A stable supply chain is the key to the success of every company, especially in the context of current challenges such as globalization and geopolitical instability. This paper addresses the issue of supply chain stability and management (SCM) through an analysis of domestic and foreign literary sources, utilizing systems theory to examine the interconnectedness of supply network elements. The study identifies critical pressures including capacity constraints, skilled worker shortages, and climate change impacts. It emphasizes the necessity of sustainability, presenting the “9R” closed-loop supply system as a vital model for minimizing waste and resource inputs while maintaining economic value. Furthermore, the results highlight the increasing role of digitalization and artificial intelligence in ensuring comprehensive visibility and forecasting. The research concludes that logistics must evolve from a cost-optimized operation into a strategic tool for risk management. To ensure future stability and resilience, companies must focus on supplier diversification, invest in automation, and integrate cyber resilience into their organizational culture.
The article conducts analysis of the significance of the European Union (EU) EU ports in the face of foreign investments and the EU response. The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative have guided Chinese investments to build infrastructure projects in participating countries, connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. These include acquisitions of several ports within EU, which has contributed towards concerns over the economic independence and control over sensitive infrastructure. The EU has begun the implementation of various measures to safeguard strategic assets. The research utilizes primary sources in form of official reports, and national statistics. The paper argues that Chinese investments are predominantly commercial in nature and the Chinese investments might find themselves disproportionately disadvantaged against other investors predominantly. This is predominantly due to political, just as structural as significant portion of the Chinese foreign investment is spearheaded by state- or mixed-owned enterprises and investors, such as COSCO.
In a period of economic turbulence and rising input costs such as labour, fuel, and traction energy, railway operators face increasing operating expenses. The authors focus on the modernization of regional railway vehicles and assess its impact on operating costs. Multiple units bring savings by reducing shunting and dwell times at terminal stations. Six scenarios combining three types of vehicles and two operating concepts are presented. Changes in operating cost items as well as efficiency are quantified using technological procedures, operational measures, and economic tools. The case study shows that diesel multiple units can reduce rail infrastructure use costs by up to 7 % and fuel costs by 5–6 % compared to the current operations. Electric multiple units increase (depending on the operation concept) infrastructure usage costs by nearly 15% but save on traction energy cost and maintenance cost. Battery electric multiple units generate the largest depreciations (up to 28 %) however they save by 5–7 % in traction energy costs compared to electric traction. It is important for stakeholders and policymakers, with the same number of trainsets and staff, it is possible to increase service frequency and thereby improve the supply and quality of regional rail transport.
Complexity of the mathematical model development for vehicle routing problems increases with the addition of more variables, constraints, and instances to single trip vehicle routing models. In this study, mathematical model was developed for the single trip vehicle routing problem in the initial phase and then it was converted to a multiple trip vehicle routing model using a simple approach. Novelty is brought to the study through simple three index formulation developed for the multiple trip vehicle routing problem, with a fewer constraint. Both the models were developed with Mixed integer linear programing techniques and were tested with the real-world data set using Cplex optimizer. Output of the experimental analysis showed a clear reduction in distance travel and the number of vehicles used. It implies that the optimization algorithm proposed in the study is applicable to real world cases to enjoy cost benefits and easiness in scheduling and optimizations. This study contributes to the existing knowledge gap through the development of novel and simple mathematical model, and the model’s testing and validation serve to the industrial applications as well.
