Efficiency and Innovation in Logistics

The importance of logistics in all its variations is still increasing. New technologies emerge, new planning methods and algorithms are developed, only to face a market with a growing complexity and the need of weighting monetary costs against ecological impact. Mastering these challenges requires a scientific viewpoint on logistics, but always with applications in mind.This volume presents up-to-date logistics research in all its diversity and interconnectedness. It grew out of the "e;International Logistics Science Conference"e; (ILSC) held in Dortmund in September 2013, bringing together leading scientists and young academics from nine different countries. The conference was jointly organized by the "e;Efficiency Cluster Logistics"e; and the "e;Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics"e;.The Program Committee used a double blind review process to choose the 12 strongest contributions, which were then grouped in four areas:- Sustainability logistics, including electric mobility, smart information, communication technologies and corporate social responsibility management - Intralogistics, including the detection of autonomous vehicles, 3D computer vision and sensor functions for forklift trucks- Transport logistics, including distribution centre organization, delivery performance in railway systems and logistics reference modelling- Logistics facilities, including environmental impact of container ports, parcel sorting systems and model based systems engineering.