“Decentralized optimization of multi-commodity flows over time”

Over the last 15 years, research on collaborative logistics has gained traction and resulted in a wide variety of research contributions that assess the potential and benefits of supply chain collaboration on the efficiency and performance of logistics.  Existing methods, however, tend to assume a long-term commitment between a small, fixed group of companies (e.g., a group of companies operating a joint transport corridor by bundling volumes). While such an approach might be viable in specific, small-scale cases, it lacks scalability and limits a healthy competition. In this research, we want to focus on the tension field between the (unrealistic) idea of supply chain collaboration – and the large gains it brings – and complete decentralization.  The goal is to understand how (partial) decentralization can alleviate the limitations of fully centralized supply chain collaboration while preserving synergy creation as much as possible (e.g., by giving concrete incentives and providing the possibility for spontaneous interaction).