Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) is a cornerstone of the European Union’s sustainable mobility strategy, providing an eco-efficient alternative to road freight. However, its potential is constrained by uncertainties in waterway navigability and demand. This paper introduces an integrated tactical-operational decision making framework, which explicitly addresses these challenges through a coordinated process of tactical planning and operational decisions under uncertainty, reinforced as a bidirectional interplay mechanism. At the tactical level, seasonal service schedules are optimized using probabilistic water-level forecasts and demand projections to preemptively allocate resources ( e.g. , vessels, terminals, ...) while maintaining flexibility for operational adjustments. At the operational level, tactical plans ( i.e. , scheduled services) support operational decision making. Revenue management principles guide demand acceptance, prioritizing high-value cargo, while dynamic (re)routing algorithms adjust demand itineraries to mitigate disruptions like sudden water-level drops or demand surges. Furthermore, operational information—such as cargo booking requests, demand itinerary deviations, and resource utilization—is systematically fed back to the tactical layer, enabling potential recalibration of schedules and capacity thresholds. By integrating tactical planning with operational adaptability, this study provides actionable insights to enhance the resilience, efficiency, and competitiveness of IWT within the European logistics network.
Cui et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: