Open Access Conference Proceedings

The issue of distribution logistics including all sub-processes is very topical. E-commerce experiencing a great expansion every year, which has been exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic. As a result, there is increasing pressure to streamline distribution logistics processes within last mile logistics. One possible solution is to reduce the time of the shipment consolidation process by using automatic identification technologies (e.g., using radio frequency identification technology), as logistic service providers mostly use barcodes or 2D code technology for automatic data processing. The article focuses on the effectiveness of automatic identification technologies in shipment consolidation process. The aim of the paper is to find out what time savings the implementation of radio frequency identification technology can bring compared to barcode technology in the process of shipment consolidation. The analyzed automatic identification technologies are compared experimentally using the Laboratory of Automatic Identification at the University of Pardubice, Faculty of Transport Engineering. Subsequently, a shipment consolidation model is created in Witness Horizon software using a dynamic simulation that simulates the duration of the shipment consolidation process for different inputs and the automatic identification technology used. The main monitored parameter is the total duration of the shipment consolidation process for different model input parameters. The experimental and dynamic simulation results are compared in the context of other studies.

Keywords: Radio frequency identification technology, barcode, dynamic simulation, distribution logistics, last mile logistics

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