Simulation Based Optimization On System Structure And Incentive Mechanism Of Port Supply Chains

The global economic crisis in 2008 has deeply changed the development of port all over the world. Port enterprises, in the forefront of the National Marine Economy Strategy, has to keep meeting the challenges to survival and development, such as restructuring in trade structure, wide range of market demand, etc. The current competition between ports has evolved into the port competition between supply chains. Optimizing the operation and incentive mechanism for revenue allocation in port supply chains to eliminate the systemic redundant with the limited resources, which would play an vital role for raising the international competitiveness and giving impetus to industrial upgrading of domestic ports. Even the traditional theoretical models of supply chains through the rigorous mathematical derivation, it can hardly describe the actual operation’s performance accurately, with plenty of presuppositions and suppositions. While the computer simulation can call any processes to test the validity and reflect realities intuitively with considering random factors as many as possible. It is well suited for the complicated port supply chains system which is driven by multi-events.This paper summarizes the characteristics, the core functions and the fundamental modes of port supply chains, which be regarded as a hybrid supply chain with some features of service supply chains, based on actual operating data in Meishan port from extensive field research. In course of generalizing the fundamental mode of port supply chains incentive and how it works, this paper takes into full account of the cooperative and restrictive relationship between members. A theoretical minimum internal friction structure of port supply chains and its dynamic distribution model are proposed by analyzing the specificity of system structure. This paper tries to explore connotation of incentive mechanism and how it works in port distribution. Revenue models, both with and without incentive mechanism, are established based on the data in system structure model.Comparing with the key performances in different distribution systems with varying degrees of complexity, the improved structure can configure the transport capability according to the actual demand; satisfy far more demand than current structure; limit the losses caused by demand fluctuation without additional cost. The benefit allocation model is used to validate the impact on the supply chain members with different incentive payment functions and define the scale of optimal parameter. And then this paper analyzes the optimal incentive mechanism from angles of fairness, incentive mechanism makers and freight forwarding market integration. The simulation model discussed in this paper supplies a certain practice guidance for future port’s operation, and can be not only used for the performance evaluation of system structure and incentive mechanism in different port supply chains, but also for the allocation of logistics resource, the demonstration of capital contribution, the coordination mechanism of port supply chains and so on.