Collaborative Logistics

Dear Colleagues,

The growing call for more sustainability – socially, economically, and environmentally – has unveiled the limitations of our current logistical systems. Despite huge efforts to improve the efficiency of individual company operations, a large gap remains between the performance of the current system and the ambitious goals set by policy makers and corroboration by our society for the near and distant future.

The future vision of logistics is built upon the idea of collaboration, and relies on the integration of logistical operations beyond company boundaries. Through active synchronization of flows within a shared logistical network (often referred to as a ‘physical internet’), companies co-create synergies that could not have been seized by operating individually.

Over the last decade, multiple small-size (up to 3–4 companies) case studies and (theoretical) research simulations have demonstrated the potential of logistics collaboration in terms of cost, CO₂ emissions, vehicle utilization, etc. At the same time, collaborative logistics can be associated with new and various challenges, such as the need for appropriate cost, benefit, or resource allocation models. Existing research, however, remains scarce and scattered. The planning of logistical operations for a horizontal coalition is generally isolated from the allocation mechanisms and is mainly limited to a unimodal setting, i.e., using only a single mode of transport (typically trucks). In addition, aspects related to differences in decision power, the need for more decentralization to guarantee scalability of the network, pricing, and the extension towards multi- or synchromodal environments are some of the aspects that are currently underrepresented (or not considered at all) in the literature.

This Special Issue aims to contribute to the discussion on how collaborative logistics can catalyze the transition towards a new, more sustainable organization of our logistical systems. Authors are cordially invited to submit original research papers, review articles, empirical studies, and case studies for this Special Issue of Logistics until 1 October 2021. Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

• Multipartner logistics
• Gain sharing/cost allocation methods
• Collaborative vehicle routing and other collaborative planning/optimization problems
• Multimodal/synchromodal networks
• The physical internet
• Decentralized decision making in logistics
• Case studies on collaborative logistics

From 15 April 2021 to 31 December 2021, all submissions (once accepted after peer review) to Logistics will be published free of charge. To take advantage of this opportunity, please submit before the deadline.

We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Dr. Christof Defryn
Dr. Lotte Verdonck
Prof. Dr. Kenneth Sörensen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Logistics is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• collaborative logistics
• joint route planning
• cost allocation
• cooperative games
• synchromodality
• physical internet