Aligning physical and virtual logistical spheres with radio-frequency identification and agent-based modelling

Today, companies endeavour to offer customisation pertaining to both the product and related services to increase competitiveness. Logistics is an essential service-based industry, which can have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction when accomplished efficiently and with agility. Agility of services can be amplified through the availability of real-time data and adept decision-making tools. Agent-based modelling (ABM) can provide a platform to represent physical entities creating a virtual sphere. The decentralisation of decision-making can enhance scheduling and resource allocation on a local level whilst maintaining overall optimal requirements of the network. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology can offer full network visibility closing the gap of connectivity between the virtual sphere and physical objects such as pallets, goods and trucks. This paper explores the use of RFID and ABM to improve returnable transport equipment (RTE) practices by increasing network agility i...

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