Transportation planning for the furniture and home goods industry presents a complex puzzle. Online retailers, like the company we’re about to uncover, face the challenge of efficiently moving products from warehouses to customers’ doorsteps. However, traditional planning methods often fail to account for the inherent randomness and variation in real-world operations.
In our research, we explore the transformative journey of a large online retailer as it embraces the power of probability in middle-mile transportation planning. Their approach relied on point forecasts, not including the unpredictability of real-world operations. Consequently, disruptions, suboptimal outcomes, and increased costs were part of their logistics network, challenging their promise of timely deliveries.
