Abstract We consider the capacitated hub-and-spoke network of a parcel courier company that consists of multiple hubs and hundreds of spokes. Parcels are collected at origin spokes, sent to hubs, sorted and consolidated on the basis of their destination spokes, and then sent to their destination spokes. Importantly, it is required that all parcels be classified based on their destination spokes at the origin spokes because the hub to which each parcel is sent is based on the connection between the hubs and its destination. As there are hundreds of destinations, the classification task at the origin spokes is very labor intensive. To solve this problem, courier companies employ a classification code system, which significantly reduces the number of categories that need to be classified by making a limited number of destination spoke groups and assigning a classification code to each group. We propose a mathematical programming model and algorithm for the assignment of classification codes to the spokes and generation of a corresponding network flow design. Experimental results from benchmark datasets generated based on real-world hub-and-spoke networks demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed algorithm.

中文翻译：

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包裹配送网络的分类代码分配

摘要 我们考虑由多个中心和数百个辐条组成的包裹快递公司的有能力的中心辐射网络。包裹在起始辐条处收集，发送到集线器，根据其目的地辐条进行分类和整合，然后发送到其目的地辐条。重要的是，要求所有包裹根据它们在起点辐条处的目的地辐条进行分类，因为每个包裹被发送到的枢纽是基于枢纽与其目的地之间的连接。由于目的地有数百个，因此起点辐条的分类任务非常繁重。为了解决这个问题，快递公司采用了分类编码系统，通过制作有限数量的目标辐条组并为每个组分配一个分类代码，这大大减少了需要分类的类别数量。我们提出了一种数学编程模型和算法，用于将分类代码分配给辐条并生成相应的网络流设计。基于真实世界中心辐射网络生成的基准数据集的实验结果证明了我们提出的算法的效率。