Two-echelon transportation optimisation: a meta-narrative analysis

Freight transportation constitutes one of the main activities that influences economy and society, as it assures a vital link between suppliers and customers and it represents a major source of employment. Multi-echelon distribution is one of the most common strategies adopted by the transportation companies in an aim of cost reduction. Although vehicle routing problems are very common in operational research, they are essentially related to single-echelon cases. This paper presents the main concepts of multi-echelon distribution with cross-docks and a unified notation for two-chelon transportation cost optimization. A systematic review is also presented, in order to list the main issues and methods that can be helpful for scientists and transportation practitioners.