A multi-agent-based real-time truck scheduling model for cross-docking problems with single inbound and outbound doors

Cross-docking is a logistics methodology employed in warehouses to gain a competitive advantage by consolidating and transferring freights directly from an inbound supplier to an outbound client with no or restricted storage. Real-time data processing is required for fast synchronisation of inflows and outflows. This study develops a real-time multi-agent truck scheduling model for single inbound-single outbound cross-docking for fast synchronisation of inflows and outflows. The proposed model exploits the autonomous, reactive, and distributed responsibility characteristics of the multi-agent systems to realise shared computation and respond flexible responses to dynamic events. This type of model is novel in the cross-docking literature for scheduling of both inbound and outbound trucks. The responsiveness of the proposed model is evaluated by employing a combination of different traffic levels based on truck arrival times. Furthermore, various truck-to-door assignment strategies are implemented to achieve the best performance based on key performance indicators such as the average stock level, the number of late pallets, the pallet delay and the outbound truck fill rate. To validate the experimental results, ANOVA (analysis of variance) is performed. The analysis demonstrates that the stock policy (SP) outperforms all the others by sustaining low stock levels and high on-time deliveries and truck fill rates across all traffic levels, while the time-related strategies are adequate for cases where outbound traffic is more elevated than inbound traffic.