Just-in-time logistics for far-distant suppliers: scheduling truck departures from an intermediate cross-docking terminal

Integrating far-distant suppliers, e.g., from low-wage countries and other currency areas, into concerted just-in-time (JIT) supply concepts is a delicate planning task. One enabler, e.g., often applied in the automotive industry, is an intermediate cross-docking terminal. Such a cross-dock located in close vicinity to the targeted plant is supplied from far-distant suppliers (as JIT as the long distance allows). The ultimate JIT demands are, then, assembled in the cross-dock from intermediate storage and delivered to the close-by plant in a concerted manner. This paper treats the scheduling of the JIT deliveries from the cross-dock toward the plant. Specifically, we aim to minimize the size of the vehicle fleet required to deliver all part containers within their given JIT intervals and without violating the vehicles’ capacities. We introduce suited solution procedures and investigate managerial aspects, such as the impact of the JIT intervals, the distance of the cross-dock, and the standardization of containers on the required vehicle fleet.