Papers

Paper

Hyperconnected City Logistics for Furniture and Large Appliance Industry: Simulation-based Exploratory Investigation

Authors:

Mohit Goyal, Jacob Cook, Benoit Montreuil, Nayeon Kim, Christian Lafrance

Abstract:

In general, the furniture and large appliance industry is currently a disconnected supply chain which forms an interesting area for Physical Internet inspired analysis and intervention. This paper thus aims to provide insights into the effectiveness of the hyperconnected supply chain in serving urban environments through simulation-based scenario analysis. Openly sharing storage space of distribution centers reduced travel distance for delivery by 26%, delivery cost by 20% and man hours by 17% compared to individual operation. Openly sharing delivery assets as well as distribution assets reduced the above measures by 60%, 46%, and 40%. Introducing cross docks and discretize delivery utilizing more fuel efficient vehicle in last mile further increased the savings in total cost to 60% and required man hour to 58% as well. However, introducing additional distribution center at city center had little effect. The impact of distribution center location optimization is studied as well. Overall, the results are encouraging implying that even a small step towards a hyperconnected supply chain can lead to dramatic savings. 

Keywords:

Hyperconnected City Logistics, Furniture and Large Appliance Industry, Physical Internet, Last Mile Delivery, Open Asset Sharing, Open Pooling, Hyperconnected Distribution, Hyperconnected Supply Chain, Hyperconnected Delivery Routing, Simulation

Related Session:
Workshop TA1: Hyperconnected Logistics Experiments in Home Fashion, Furniture and Appliance Supply Chains
Thursday, June 30, 8:00am - 9:00am

Paper

Impact of Inventory Policy on Last Mile Delivery of Furniture and Large Appliance upon Open Asset Sharing: Simulation-based Approach

Authors:

Nayeon Kim, Benoit Montreuil

Abstract:

Open asset sharing is one of the concepts that forms the basis of Physical Internet. Naturally, interests of different parties are conflicting in such setting especially when existing assets independently owned by participants are now shared. Therefore, it is important to consider the impact of strategies of participants to successfully implement hyperconnected logistic system in real world. Moreover, the benefits of hyperconnected supply chain can vary significantly by strategies of participants. We examined the impact of inventory policy on the performance of last mile delivery of furniture and large appliances in urban setting under scenarios where retailers are openly sharing their logistic assets, storage and delivery, using simulation. Significant difference in savings achieved by open asset sharing by inventory policy has been shown which further highlights the importance of behavior of participants for successful implementation of Physical Internet in real world.

Keywords:

Physical Internet, Last mile delivery, Product Deployment, City logistics, Open asset sharing, Open shared storage, Open shared delivery, Furniture and large appliances, Simulation, Scenario analysis

Related Session:
Workshop TA1: Hyperconnected Logistics Experiments in Home Fashion, Furniture and Appliance Supply Chains
Thursday, June 30, 8:00am - 9:00am

Paper

Physical Internet Applied in the Major Home Fashion Products Retail Industry: A Collaborative Endeavor by Sears Canada and Clear Destination

Authors:

Daniel Pronovost , Director Home Delivery Operations, Sears Canada Inc. Christian Lafrance, CEO, Clear Destination Inc.

Abstract:

In 2015 E-tail accounted for 10% of the major home fashions sales in Canada and 18% in the USA. E-tailers offer up a wide variety of SKU’s with both high and low inventory turns. Growing online sales have caused the retail environment to transform the way it plans, buys and moves goods through its existing supply chain to service their stores and their customers. There is now less inventory, both in terms of quantity and number of SKUs. There is a shift gravitating towards a “vendor to customer” supply chain set up. This transition frees up logistics capacity and presents an opportunity to leverage the supply chain of impacted retailers for servicing other retailers and manufacturers, in the spirit of the Physical Internet. We present such a case in which Sears Canada, using Clear Destination technology.

Keywords:

home fashion, furniture, appliance, supply chain

Related Session:
Workshop TA1: Hyperconnected Logistics Experiments in Home Fashion, Furniture and Appliance Supply Chains
Thursday, June 30, 8:00am - 9:00am

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