Moreover, in the operational planning literature, the modal
switch is ignored. Assume that for example, at some point a large
volume order arrives, or there is a modal breakdown. In such a situation,
the choice of transportation mode and its operational costs
are worth studying. In addition, no paper has discussed the dynamic
allocation of multi-asset resources. In an international containerized
transportation chain, usually more than one type of
loading unit is used. For instance, reusable boxes or cages are allocated
to customer orders, while the containers are allocated to
move these smaller units. Not only repositioning of empty containers
is important, but returning and positioning of empty smaller
units is also important. Furthermore, incorporating transshipment
time and capacity in terminals are interesting subjects in resource
management. Regarding empty loading units, it would be interesting
to incorporate inventory and replenishment techniques to the
ordering process of these resources.