Abstract : This paper develops a cooperative game theory framework for cost allocation in collaborative logistics, where multiple carriers or shippers share vehicles, depots and routes to reduce total transportation cost. Building on a vehicle routing–type optimisation model, the study first computes standalone and coalition costs for different groups of carriers and uses these to construct a characteristic function that captures the savings generated by any coalition. On this basis, several cost allocation rules are analysed, including the Shapley value, the nucleolus and a simple proportional rule. A numerical case study illustrates how collaboration restructures routes, lowers system-wide cost and redistributes individual costs among partners. The results highlight clear trade-offs between fairness and stability: Shapley and nucleolus allocations satisfy core and individual rationality conditions, whereas proportional sharing is easy to implement but may be unstable. The framework is complemented with a stability analysis and managerial discussion on sensitivity to input parameters, contractual design and scalability to larger coalitions, providing a transparent and analytically grounded tool to support the design of collaborative logistics agreements.
Cite : Kashyap, P. (2023). A Cooperative Game Theory Framework for Cost Allocation in Collaborative Logistics (1st ed., pp. 385-393). Noble Science Press. https://doi.org/10.52458/9789388996587.2023.eb.ch65
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