Optimal size and location planning of public logistics terminals

The concept of public logistics terminals (multi-company distribution cente rs) has been proposed in Japan to help alleviate traffic congestion, enviro nment, energy and labor costs. These facilities allow more efficient logist ics systems to be established and they facilitate the implementation of adv anced information systems and cooperative freight systems. This paper descr ibes a mathematical model developed for determining the optimal size and lo cation of public logistics terminals. Queuing theory and nonlinear programm ing techniques are used to determine the best solution. The model explicitl y takes into account traffic conditions in the network and was successfully applied to an actual road network in the Kyoto-Osaka area in Japan. (C) 19 99 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.