Urban Logistics through River: A Two-Echelon Distribution Model

Studies that use rivers in a last-mile delivery context are scarce. This research considers the first multimodal alternative based on barge for parcel activities. It proposes two sustainable network designs two-echelon distribution. The efficiency of scenarios is assessed through performance indicators. A three-stage decomposition heuristic used. Allocation customers to closest satellite at stage uses non-supervised machine learning clustering method, 2D-k-means. last stages, comprising echelons routing, solved using nearest neighbor procedure. fixed costs decrease by 41% and energy consumption 92% when applying river transportation mode e-cargo bikes distribution network’s second echelon, respectively. Future avenues render results more realistic with consideration other larger network.