Track: Information Systems and Management

Abstract

The improvement and reinforcement of logistics and freight distribution in cities can be achieved by managing the factors affecting deliveries in urban areas. Traffic congestion and time windows of deliveries are the most critical factors in solving distribution planning problems and executing deliveries in an urban environment. Traffic congestion affects the feasibility of delivery schedules and should be taken into account during the initial scheduling, as well as during the execution of deliveries. Time windows should be ensured during the initial scheduling of deliveries, but any rescheduling should guarantee that this restriction is not violated. Contemporary software technology can assist the scheduling and execution of freight distribution in cities. Logistics companies could exploit technologies, such as Cloud Computing (CC) and the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) for optimizing the efficiency of their deliveries. Real-time data of traffic flow and speed of vehicles, collected from sensors, can improve the accuracy of deliveries and increase customer satisfaction. Alongside, the significant volume of data can be stored, processed and utilized, through CC. This technology can quickly provide information and take real-time control over critical processes, to ensure efficiency. The scope of this paper is to describe the architecture of a cloud-based transportation system. The system integrates routing and traffic forecasting algorithms with CC and IoV technologies. The functionality of the system includes the initial, static scheduling of deliveries and the routing of the vehicles. It takes into account the time-windows of the customers and the feasibility of the schedules based on traffic congestion forecasts. Besides, the system collects real-time data of the current situation of the trucks and the real conditions of the traffic in the streets of the city, in order to reschedule the deliveries, if it detects an expected violation of the time windows.