UC Business Student Puts The (Computer) Logic In Logistics

It's a given that an automobile is a complex machine.

So, in this age of just-in-time delivery standards and a growing pressure for efficiency and productivity, you can imagine what the pressures must be to manage the process that creates such an intricately produced machine.

As part of his education, University of Cincinnati graduate student Rajesh Radhakrishnan isn't just imagining such a process, he's redefining it.

Through an internship with the logistics company Transfreight, Rajesh has created and developed a logistical software planning program called the Interactive Route Builder (IRB).

The end result is impressive: what used to take Transfreight employees a full working day to accomplish can now be done in about one hour.

"Logistics route design and optimization is a problem that companies and schools have been working on for decades. Rajesh's work has taken the practical part of route design to a point where, through this technology, customers and employees are much better off than we had been," says Robert Martichenko, Vice President, Logistics Operations at Transfreight.

Adds Chad Talach, the General Manager of Logistics Engineering for Transfreight: "Because I grew up in the world of doing this manually, I can tell you without hesitation that he's done an amazing job. People assume this is how we do things (with technology), but it's not that simple. It's not how it's been done, and it won't be done the way he's developed it in some places for decades."

Northern Kentucky-based Transfreight is a third-party logistics provider, meaning they help clients manage the logistical challenges of running their businesses. One of their largest clients is Toyota.

Assembling one car can involve parts from up to 200 suppliers, so the challenges of having everything constantly in the right place at the right time for the cheapest possible price are obvious.

"Timing issues are important," says Jeff Camm, the head of UC's Quantitative Analysis/Operations Management (QAOM) faculty. "Trucks have to show up on time. They are trying to create the optimal quantity to deliver and, since holding inventory is costly, they want the delivery to be just-in-time."

Transfreight has traditionally used a manual process in figuring out delivery logistical issues, because of the large numbers of variables that are involved.

With a master's degree in electrical engineering from UC to go with his current work towards a master's in quantitative analysis/operations management, Rajesh has been able to bring technology into the process.

"We wanted to be able to improve what they do by looking at how they design delivery routes and figuring out how much the costs are for each route," says Rajesh. "Statistical analysis of various design parameters -- such as total cost, cost per meter-cube, average cube-efficiency of the trucks, etc. -- can now be used to evaluate route designs and the best design can be suggested for implementation."

The IRB allows for in-depth analysis of dozens of variables, including locations of suppliers and cross-docks where freight is moved from truck-to-truck, the total capacities of the trucks, and even fine details, such as the hours when a dock will not accept shipments.

"The IRB automates all the map plotting, volume calculations, mileage and time calculations that used to be performed with spreadsheets and calculators," says Martin Sosso, Senior Business Analyst with Transfreight. "It can also make some decisions for the user, such as route frequency and amount of freight to be loaded per route, which further streamlines the process. This then frees the user to make logistic decisions instead of performing calculations." 

In addition to helping planners design delivery routes and schedules, the IRB also has the capacity to take a group of suppliers and calculate, based on their locations, the best site for a cross-dock, so as to minimize the costs of routes between the suppliers and the cross-dock.

The project began last summer with an internship with Transfreight set up by UC assistant professor of operations management Mike Fry.

How impressed was the company with Rajesh's contribution? He starts work full-time with Transfreight following completion of his second UC master's degree later this month.

"The IRB creates the time and functionality in the design process required to ensure the most cost-effective solutions for our customers," says Transfreight's Talach. "We were looking to empower our logistics engineers with a tool that allows them to showcase their knowledge and creativity, key requirements in attracting and retaining new and existing customers in this business. Transfreight is extremely pleased with the project's outcome and energized as we look to the future."