Aggregation and analysis of information from logistics companies to build a complex cargo transportation route

The work is devoted to optimizing the construction of transportation routes in the field of cargo logistics. There are cases when cargo transportation between two cities by one transport company is more expensive than transportation by different companies with cargo transshipment at intermediate points. Information about such complex routes is of interest to both transport companies, which can find ways to reduce the cost of routes, and ordinary users looking for options for cheaper cargo delivery. The subject of the study is the automation of building the most profitable complex route for cargo transportation performed by several road and rail carriers and passing through intermediate points for transshipment (transfer of cargo). A distinctive feature of the research method used in this work is that it is based on the analysis of data from the calculator websites of carrier companies, which enable dynamical extraction of the transportation cost information is during a query process, as well as on heuristic approaches to building a complex route. The authors formulated the criteria for selecting potential transshipment points and their number. The proposed route cost estimation approach was tested on open data of 40 logistics companies, 9 cargo configurations and routes between 171 cities. As a result of the work, the authors proposed and tested a new heuristic algorithm for constructing a complex cargo transportation route and developed a software module. The test results have shown the effectiveness of the algorithm: using the proposed heuristics, in 10% of cases it is possible to build a complex route between cities, the cost of which might be significantly less than a simple one. The theoretical significance of the work lies in the development of a new algorithm for solving the problem of constructing a complex route for the transportation of goods, the practical significance lies in the implementation of a new module that will be implemented in the existing logistics service Cargotime.ru.