Sistema de Apoio à decisão para Otimização de Transporte de Última Milha de Contentores Marítimos

In terms of strategic objectives, this project aims to contribute to the economic competitiveness of operators and ICT, and to the social and economic development of the region and sustainable logistics. The main aim of this project is to design an innovative (ready-to-implement) online dynamic decision support system for negotiating and operationalization of pickup and deliveries of containers to/from clients from/to a given port. The simulation and validation of the beta version of the model will be done in Port of Leixões but it can be reply at any SeaPort. The strategic objectives are: to improve logistics of the existing freight transport system (namely maritime containers) by introducing innovative solutions for negotiating transport services (as a SAAS (Software As a Service) and new cooperative management); to contribute to the economic competitiveness of transport operators and export/import companies; to reduce the amount of traffic in port areas, and all externalities that come from this (less noise and air pollution, less traveling time for both cargo and personal vehicles); in overall, to contribute to the social and economic development of the region. The fulfillment of the main goal requires the accomplishment of the following objectives: 1. To characterize all study areas in terms of socioeconomics, economic activity, existing demand and supply, identifying and quantifying the main related problems and their causes; 2. To investigate the main factors that affect decisions; 3. To develop, integrate and investigate the parameters’ effects of a computerized application (including vehicle routing, scheduling, dispatching, prediction/information of arrival times) on the performance of the container transport system; 4. To propose a ready-to-implement online intelligent dynamic DSS for the study area and port, but transferable to other areas and ports of the country.