Research On Location Of Express Logistics Network Under Electronic Commerce Environment

With the development of electronic commerce and the demand of the online shopping, the express business volume presents explosive growth in recent years, which provides a broad market space and development opportunities for the express industry in our country. Reasonable layout of express logistics network is of great significance to reduce cost of express logistics, improve responsiveness and increase e-commerce customer service satisfaction. Most location models of express logistics networks take the lowest cost as the site goal. These models do not take customer time satisfaction and cross-level direct transportation into consideration, which is difficult to meet e-commerce’s requirements for efficiency, convenience and low-cost of express logistics. Based on the analysis of express logistics network in the current e-commerce environment, locations of terminal service outlets and transfer stations in express logistics network have been mainly discussed in the paper. The following three aspects are included.Firstly, the paper has analyzed the characteristics and relationship between e-commerce and express logistics network, summarized the problems existed in express logistics network, and put forward the optimization requirements of express logistics network under e-commerce conditions. Besides, the principles, influence factors, common location methods and algorithms of express logistics network location have described.Secondly, the paper has studied the location problems of terminal service outlets in express logistics network. The part describes common kinds of function expression and curve fitting about customer time satisfaction. Building a multi-target location model based on terminal service outlets cost and customer time satisfaction, and converting the multi-objective location model to single target location model by using the weighted method. Then, with an example, the numbers of terminal service outlets under the case of maximum customer satisfaction have been obtained by the LINGO software, which proves the practicability and validity of the model.Finally, the paper has studied the location problem of transfer stations under cross-level way in express logistics network. According to the requirements of lean logistics and cost saving, the paper has considered the situation of cross-level direct transportation from distribution centers to terminal service outlets, which breaks through the traditional limitations of layer-by-layer classification in express logistics network. And then analyzing the network structure, cost structure and establishing cross-level transfer stations location model. Then choosing and designing genetic algorithm to solve the model. Combined with example, the position and reasonable allocation of the best transfer stations have been obtained through MATLAB software, which verifies the correctness and feasibility of both the model and algorithm.