Scientists at Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) are researching how logistics can be reorganized. The research project "Fleet design and route planning with heterogeneous environmental preferences of shippers (FloTUV)" is being funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with a total volume of around 464,000 euros.

Up to now, the fleets of logistics companies have been dominated by diesel trucks. These vehicles are gradually being replaced by battery-electric or other sustainable drive systems, creating new challenges: "Up to now, route planning has focused primarily on efficiency and punctuality. In the future, the emissions of a transport process will also be an important target parameter for logistics companies and their customers. Logistics companies are therefore faced with the challenge of planning transports in such a way that all customers receive exactly the transport service that best meets their requirements, for example in terms of emissions or costs," explains Professor Dr. Thomas Kirschstein from the Wiesbaden Business School at HSRM. "Shippers with high environmental standards may also be prepared to pay higher prices if their shipment is transported in a climate-friendly way. Cost-oriented customers prefer lower rates and may accept higher CO₂ emissions. This creates new planning problems for fleet design and scheduling."

"This is where our FloTUV research project comes in. We are developing a platform for planning technically heterogeneous vehicle fleets that maps customer preferences in terms of emissions, time and costs," says Professor Christian Bierwirth from MLU. "The core idea is a labeling system: shippers choose an eco-label that indicates the climate efficiency of a logistics service. Carriers can price these labels differently and thus skim off willingness to pay. This is intended to finance investments in more environmentally friendly vehicles and initiate the sustainable conversion of vehicle fleets."

Platform for heterogeneous vehicle fleets

In terms of methodology, the project focuses on more than just classic route planning. The main objective is to design and implement a model platform that can be used to plan technologically heterogeneous vehicle fleets. Stable so-called coalitions of orders are to be identified. A coalition combines several delivery orders in a joint tour. It is stable if the distribution of costs and emissions can be divided up in such a way that no one has better alternatives. "Finding perfect solutions that are both stable and efficient is often difficult and time-consuming in practical experience. That's why we develop procedures to find practicable solutions. These procedures should comply with regulatory requirements, find good solutions quickly and be comprehensible for logistics companies and their customers," says Prof. Dr. Kirschstein.

Protocols for communication between logistics service providers, customers and the planning platform are necessary in order to find practicable solutions. The goal: a structured coordination of customer preferences and transport capacities in order to distribute orders in such a way that the customer's desired goals are achieved in the best possible way.

Dynamic ecolabels

"Operational route planning and strategic-tactical decisions, such as the fleet mix, are mutually dependent, as the available vehicles in a fleet determine how well heterogeneous customer requirements can be served in the long term," says Professor Dr. Christian Bierwirth. "To this end, we are dynamically adapting the ecolabel to the technology mix in order to be able to grow in line with technological developments. In parallel, technical and infrastructural data on vehicle types as well as charging station information and investment costs are being researched in order to test the platform in realistic settings."

The project promises to link transport planning and environmental assessment more closely. It creates tools with which logistics service providers can use market incentives to convert their fleets to be climate-friendly - without losing sight of practical operational experience.

Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) - 567015469.

_{[AI was used as an aid in the creation of the text.]}