Two-echelon distribution with a single capacitated city hub

In this paper, we investigate the synchronization between the two echelons in two-echelon urban distribution systems. The first echelon aims at transferring goods from a warehouse to a (single) city hub located in the city center. The second echelon, managed with a fleet of environmentally friendly vehicles, delivers goods to final customers, from the city hub. The two echelons are synchronized in time but also with regards to the capacity of the city hub. As far as we know, this is the first study considering the latter issue in the context of two-echelon distribution. To deal with the synchronization while optimizing the distribution, we propose a three-phase heuristic solution approach. At first, our approach optimizes the distribution for the second echelon. Then, it manages the synchronization. Finally, it optimizes the distribution for the first echelon. Population-based metaheuristics and integer programs are used. Results show the effectiveness of the method and permit to derive managerial insights on the distribution.