Planning device, planning method, and program

Abstract

To reduce the scale of the problem of creating a transportation plan.SOLUTION: The plan creation device 100 selects a candidate of a transport route to be a selection target in a process of creating a transport plan from among candidates of a transport route based on a result of determining whether or not a candidate of a transport route by a transport means satisfies a condition for selecting a transport route determined based on a transport route evaluation index. Then, in the process of creating the transport plan, the plan creation device 100 determines, for each transport means, a transport route to be selected as the transport plan from among the candidates selected in this manner.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a planning device, a planning method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] When creating a transportation plan for transported objects, such as a physical distribution plan or a transportation plan, it is necessary to determine the transportation route for each transportation means. Patent Document 1 describes a technique of this type.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, first, a return port pattern is created for each product by listing the return ports to which a ship may head after delivering the product from the loading port to the discharging port. Next, for each return port pattern, a delivery pattern is created based on the time at which the ship will arrive at the return port after delivering the product from the loading port to the discharging port. Finally, a delivery plan for the ships is created by assigning delivery patterns to ships in a way that minimizes the actual number of ships and maximizes the product loading rate of each ship. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-148896 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, the transportation routes (return port patterns) of ships are listed assuming that they can enter ports that can be entered. Therefore, there is a risk that the number of transportation routes of transportation means that can be selected when creating a transportation plan will be large. Therefore, there is a risk that the scale of the problem of creating a transportation plan will be large.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to reduce the scale of the problem of creating a transportation plan. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The plan creation device disclosed herein is a plan creation device that creates a transportation plan for a transportation means to transport an object along a transportation route that includes a plurality of locations where the object is at least one of loaded and unloaded, and includes: a candidate acquisition unit that acquires candidate transportation routes to be used as the transportation route from among the transportation routes that the transportation means can take when creating the transportation plan; a determination unit that determines whether the candidate transportation routes acquired by the candidate acquisition unit satisfy conditions defined based on indexes for evaluating the transportation routes; a selection unit that selects candidate transportation routes to be selected in the process of creating the transportation plan from among the candidate transportation routes acquired by the candidate acquisition unit based on the determination result by the determination unit; and a determination unit that determines, for each transportation means, the transport route to be selected as the transportation plan from among the candidate transportation routes selected by the selection unit in the process of creating the transportation plan.

[0008] The planning method disclosed herein is a planning method for creating a transportation plan for a transportation means to transport an object along a transportation route that includes a plurality of locations where the object is at least one of loaded and unloaded, and includes a candidate acquisition process for acquiring candidate transportation routes to be used as the transportation route when creating the transportation plan from among the transportation routes that the transportation means can take; a determination process for determining whether the candidate transportation routes acquired by the candidate acquisition process satisfy conditions defined based on indexes for evaluating the transportation routes; a selection process for selecting candidate transportation routes to be selected in the process of creating the transportation plan from among the candidate transportation routes acquired in the candidate acquisition process based on the determination result of the determination process; and a determination process for determining, for each transportation means, the transport route to be selected as the transportation plan from among the candidate transportation routes selected in the selection process in the process of creating the transportation plan.

[0009] The program disclosed herein causes a computer to function as each part of the plan creation device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The present disclosure can reduce the scale of the transportation planning problem. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a plan creation device. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a loading and unloading location and area. [Figure 2B] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an arrival order prohibition condition (a transportation route selection condition). [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a discharge port ship allocation plan. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a candidate transportation route. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a candidate transportation route. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a plan creation method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the term "comparison objects" as being the same in terms of length, position, size, spacing, etc., includes not only cases where they are exactly the same, but also cases where they are different within the scope of the present disclosure (for example, differences within the tolerance range determined at the time of design).

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the functional configuration of the plan creation device 100. The hardware of the plan creation device 100 includes, for example, one or more hardware processors, such as a central processing unit (CPU), and one or more memories, such as a random access memory (RAM) and a read-only memory (ROM). Various calculations are performed by executing one or more programs stored in the memories using the one or more hardware processors. The plan creation device 100 also includes an input device and an output device (not shown). The input device includes, for example, at least one of a user interface, such as a keyboard, and a communication interface, such as a network interface card (NIC). The user interface may include a graphical user interface (GUI). The output device includes, for example, at least one of a computer display, such as a liquid crystal display, and a communication interface, such as a NIC. The input device and the output device may be external to the plan creation device 100. The plan creation device 100 may also be implemented using dedicated hardware, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0014] <Planning device 100> The plan creation device 100 creates a transportation plan for a transportation vehicle to transport transported objects along a transportation route that includes multiple locations where at least one of the objects is loaded and unloaded. In the following description, a location where at least one of the objects is loaded and unloaded is referred to as an unloading location as necessary. At an unloading location, the objects may be loaded only, unloaded only, or both loaded and unloaded. The objects may be any object that can be transported by a transportation vehicle, such as finished products, semi-finished products, raw materials, and materials. The transportation vehicle may be any means capable of transporting the objects, such as a ship, truck, automated guided vehicle (AGV), or aircraft. The transportation plan includes information that can identify, for example, the loading and unloading locations, the order in which the transportation vehicle will arrive at each unloading location, and the transported objects to be loaded and unloaded at each unloading location, for each transportation vehicle. Note that, instead of the arrival order itself, the information that can identify the arrival order of the transportation means at the unloading location may include, for example, the arrival time of the transportation means at the unloading location. Furthermore, for example, the departure time of the transportation means at the unloading location may be included in the transportation plan. Furthermore, for example, the type and quantity of the transported objects that will be loaded and unloaded at each unloading location may be included.

[0015] In this embodiment, an example is given in which the plan creation device 100 selects a suitable candidate transportation route from among the candidate transportation routes based on the results of determining whether the candidate transportation route for a transportation means satisfies conditions defined based on an index for evaluating the transportation route. In the following description, an index for evaluating a transportation route (i.e., an index for evaluating the quality of a transportation route) will be referred to as a transportation route evaluation index as necessary. In the following description, a condition defined based on the transportation route evaluation index will be referred to as a transportation route selection condition. Below, an example of the transportation route evaluation index and the transportation route selection condition will be described.

[0016] <<Transportation route evaluation index>> First, an example of a transportation route evaluation index for evaluating the quality of a transportation route will be described.

[0017] The evaluation of a transportation route may be determined based on, for example, the distance required for transportation along the transportation route. For example, if the distance required for transportation along a certain transportation route is too long, there is a risk that the transportation vehicle will not be able to be used for other transportation purposes for a long period of time. Furthermore, for example, if the distance required for transportation along a certain transportation route is too long, there is a risk that the transportation vehicle will need to be refueled along the way. Conversely, for example, if the distance required for transportation along a certain transportation route is too short, there is a risk that the transportation vehicle will be used more frequently. In this case, for example, the transportation vehicle may travel to and from departure and arrival locations (bases) more frequently, resulting in longer periods of time when the transportation vehicle is not transporting goods. Furthermore, even if it would be more efficient for the transportation vehicle to visit other unloading locations besides those included in the transportation route, there is a risk that a transportation route that does not visit the other unloading locations will be adopted in the transportation plan. For these reasons, a transportation route evaluation index (an index for evaluating a transportation route) may include the distance required for transportation along the transportation route.

[0018] Furthermore, the evaluation of a transportation route may be determined based on, for example, the time required for transportation along that transportation route. For example, even if the required distance for transportation along a transportation route is short, if the required time is too long, there is a risk that the transportation means will not be able to be used for other transportation for a long period of time, or that the transportation means will need to be refueled along the way, just as in the case where the required distance is too long. Furthermore, for example, if the required time for transportation along a transportation route is too short, there is a risk that the transportation means will spend a long time traveling without transporting goods, or that an efficient transportation route will not be adopted in the transportation plan, just as in the case where the required distance is too short. Therefore, the transportation route evaluation index (an index for evaluating a transportation route) may include the time required for transportation along that transportation route.

[0019] Furthermore, the evaluation of a transportation route may be determined based on, for example, the loading and unloading locations included in the transportation route. In this case, the evaluation of the transportation route may be performed, for example, by using a plurality of loading and unloading locations on the transportation route where the transportation means arrive consecutively. For example, the positional relationship between multiple loading and unloading locations where the arrival order of a transportation means is consecutive may not be a desirable positional relationship from the perspective of transportation efficiency. Specifically, for example, if the distance required for a transportation means to travel between the nth loading and unloading location with the n+2th arrival order in this order is shorter than the distance required for a transportation means to travel between the nth loading and unloading location with the n+1th arrival order in this order, where n is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, then it is considered that a more efficient transportation route would be to transport from the nth loading and unloading location with the n+2th arrival order to the n+1th unloading location in this order, rather than transporting from the nth loading and unloading location with the n+1th arrival order to the n+2nd unloading location in this order. For example, if the nth loading and unloading location in the order of arrival is a location in Chiba prefecture, the n+1th loading and unloading location in the order of arrival is a location in Hyogo prefecture, and the n+2th loading and unloading location in the order of arrival is a location in Aichi prefecture, then a transportation route that transports goods in the order of Chiba prefecture, Aichi prefecture, and Hyogo prefecture is a more efficient transportation route because it has a shorter required distance and time than a transportation route that transports goods in the order of Chiba prefecture, Hyogo prefecture, and Aichi prefecture.

[0020] In addition, the positional relationship between two loading and unloading locations where the arrival order of transportation means is consecutive (not three or more) may not be desirable from the viewpoint of transportation efficiency. For example, if a transport ship's transport route includes a loading and unloading location on the Pacific Ocean side and a loading and unloading location on the Sea of ​​Japan side, the transport ship must pass through the Tsugaru Straits and the Kanmon Straits. Therefore, the transport route may be inefficient in terms of sea route and transport speed.

[0021] Furthermore, for example, the relative positions of two loading and unloading locations where transportation means arrive consecutively may not be desirable from the viewpoint of the environment and traffic conditions of the transportation route. For example, a transportation route for a transport ship that needs to pass through a place where bad sea conditions frequently occur may be undesirable from the viewpoint of safe transportation, and a transportation route for a truck that needs to pass through a place where traffic congestion frequently occurs may be undesirable from the viewpoint of transportation efficiency.

[0022] In addition to the multiple unloading locations where the transportation means arrive consecutively, there may be other unloading locations included in the transportation route that are not desirable from the perspective of transportation efficiency. For example, a transport route for a transport ship that includes more than a certain number of loading and unloading locations where offshore waiting times are expected to be long may be undesirable from the perspective of transport efficiency.

[0023] As described above, a transportation route evaluation index (an index for evaluating a transportation route) may be defined based on the loading and unloading locations included in the transportation route. In this case, as described above, the transportation route evaluation index (an index for evaluating a transportation route) may be based on multiple loading and unloading locations on the transportation route that are consecutive in the order of arrival of the transportation means. The number of multiple loading and unloading locations that are consecutive in the order of arrival may be two, three, or more.

[0024] From the above, a transportation route evaluation index (an index for evaluating a transportation route) is defined based on at least one of the distance required for transportation along the transportation route, the time required for transportation along the transportation route, and the loading and unloading locations included in the transportation route. However, the transportation route evaluation index (an index for evaluating a transportation route) is not limited to being defined based on these factors. For example, a transportation route that can utilize a transportation means that can travel faster or a transportation means that can travel at lower cost may be preferable. From this perspective, the transportation route evaluation index may be defined based on the transportation means that can be used on the transportation route. The transportation means may be the same type of transportation (for example, a trailer, a truck, etc. if it is a vehicle) or different types of transportation means.

[0025] In the following description, a distance that can be considered equivalent to the distance required for transportation along a transportation route will be referred to as the required transportation route distance, as needed. Also, a time that can be considered equivalent to the time required for transportation along a transportation route will be referred to as the required transportation route time, as needed. The required distance of the transportation route does not have to match the actual required distance. For example, the required distance of the transportation route may be the total distance of a straight line (not a road) connecting two unloading locations that arrive consecutively. The required distance of the transportation route may also be expressed as the straight-line distance between the first and last unloading locations in the order of arrival. The required time of the transportation route does not have to match the actual required time. For example, the estimated time required for transportation between two unloading locations may be defined in the form of a table or the like for each unloading location, and the total time of the estimated time required for transportation between two unloading locations that arrive consecutively on the transportation route may be used.

[0026] <<Conditions for selecting a transportation route>> As described above, the transportation route selection conditions are determined based on the transportation route evaluation index. The transportation route selection conditions may be conditions for selecting a transportation route candidate, or may be conditions for not selecting a transportation route candidate. For example, when the transport route evaluation index is the required transport route distance, the transport route selection condition as a condition for not selecting a transport route candidate may be, for example, not selecting the transport route candidate if the required transport route distance of the transport route candidate is longer than a predetermined distance. Also, the transport route selection condition as a condition for selecting a transport route candidate may be, for example, selecting the transport route candidate if the required transport route distance of the transport route candidate is equal to or shorter than the predetermined distance.

[0027] For example, the transport route selection conditions as conditions for not selecting a transport route candidate may be to list transport routes whose required transport route distance is longer than a predetermined distance and not select the listed transport route candidate.The transport route selection conditions as conditions for selecting a transport route candidate may be to list transport routes whose required transport route distance is shorter than a predetermined distance and select the listed transport route candidate.

[0028] Furthermore, for example, if the transport route evaluation index is the required time for the transport route, the transport route selection condition as a condition for not selecting a transport route candidate may be, for example, not to select a transport route candidate whose required time for the transport route is longer than a predetermined time. Furthermore, the transport route selection condition as a condition for selecting a transport route candidate may be, for example, to select a transport route candidate whose required time for the transport route is equal to or shorter than the predetermined time.

[0029] For example, the transport route selection conditions as conditions for not selecting a transport route candidate may be to list transport routes whose required transport route time is longer than a predetermined time and not select the listed transport route candidates.The transport route selection conditions as conditions for selecting a transport route candidate may be to list transport routes whose required transport route time is shorter than a predetermined time and select the listed transport route candidates.

[0030] Furthermore, for example, when the transportation route evaluation index is a loading and unloading location included in a transportation route, the transportation route selection condition as a condition for not selecting a transportation route candidate may be, for example, not to select the transportation route candidate when the transportation route includes a predetermined number or more of loading and unloading locations that meet a predetermined condition. Furthermore, the transportation route selection condition as a condition for selecting a transportation route candidate may be, for example, to select the transportation route candidate when the transportation route does not include a predetermined number or more of loading and unloading locations that meet the predetermined condition. An example of an unloading location that meets the predetermined condition is an unloading location where a long waiting time is expected to occur, which is the time it takes for the vehicle to load and unload after arriving at the unloading location.

[0031] Furthermore, for example, if the transportation route evaluation index is a location where transportation means arrive consecutively, the transportation route selection condition as a condition for not selecting a transportation route candidate may be, for example, not to select a transportation route candidate that arrives consecutively at a loading and unloading location where transportation means are prohibited from arriving consecutively. Furthermore, the transportation route selection condition as a condition for selecting a transportation route candidate may be, for example, to select a transportation route candidate that does not arrive consecutively at a loading and unloading location where transportation means are prohibited from arriving consecutively. In the above example, the loading and unloading location where transportation means are prohibited from arriving consecutively is determined by the positional relationship between multiple loading and unloading locations where transportation means arrive consecutively, or the state of the route when the transportation means moves between multiple loading and unloading locations where transportation means arrive consecutively. More specifically, for example, if the distance required for transportation between a first unloading location that is nth in the arrival order and a third unloading location that is n+2th in the arrival order is shorter than the distance required for transportation between a first unloading location that is nth in the arrival order and a second unloading location that is n+1th in the arrival order, a condition for selecting a transportation route may be set to prohibit the transportation means from arriving at the first unloading location, the second unloading location, and the third unloading location in that order.Furthermore, a condition for selecting a transportation route may be set to prohibit two consecutive unloading locations in the arrival order of a transportation means from being a location on the Pacific Ocean side and a location on the Sea of ​​Japan side.

[0032] As described above, by determining whether candidate transport routes satisfy the transport route selection conditions defined based on the transport route evaluation index, it is possible to prevent obviously inappropriate transport routes from being selected as transport routes to be selected in the process of creating a transport plan.

[0033] <<Area settings>> The content of the transportation route evaluation index may be determined based on, for example, the location of the unloading location itself. However, for example, when there are multiple unloading locations, determining the content of the transportation route evaluation index based on the location of the unloading location itself may result in the content of the transportation route evaluation index becoming fragmented. Therefore, for example, it may be difficult to select a transportation route that enables efficient transportation. For example, even if transportation between unloading locations within a certain area is efficient, if the distance between two unloading locations within the area is long, it may be difficult to select a candidate transportation route that includes the unloading location. There is also a risk that the calculation time for selecting (narrowing down) a transportation route may be long. Therefore, in this embodiment, the unloading location is assigned to at least one area among multiple areas based on the location of the unloading location, and at least one content of the transportation route evaluation index is determined assuming that the unloading location is located in the assigned area. Here, it is preferable that at least one area is assigned two or more unloading locations. Furthermore, the transportation route selection conditions may be determined without any restrictions on transportation at multiple unloading locations assigned to the same area, assuming that transportation means can arrive consecutively.

[0034] Figure 2A is a diagram showing an example of an unloading location and area. Figure 2A illustrates a case where the transportation means is a carrier ship and the unloading location is a port where unloading (discharging) takes place. In the following description, the port where unloading takes place will be referred to as a discharge port as necessary, and the port where loading takes place will be referred to as a loading port as necessary.

[0035] 2A illustrates a case where the discharge ports 201a to 201p are assigned to at least one of six areas E1 to E6. Specifically, the case is illustrated where the discharge ports 201a to 201d are assigned to area E1, the discharge ports 201b and 201e to 201f are assigned to area E2, the discharge ports 201g to 201i are assigned to area E3, the discharge ports 201j to 201k are assigned to area E4, the discharge ports 2011 to 201n are assigned to area E5, and the discharge ports 201o to 201p are assigned to area E6. Note that, for convenience of explanation, the discharge ports 201a to 201p are shown in FIG. 2A, but the discharge ports 201a to 201p do not necessarily correspond to actual ports.

[0036] When at least one content of the transportation route evaluation index is determined assuming that the unloading points 201a to 201p are in the area to which the unloading points are assigned, for example, at least one content of the transportation route evaluation index may be determined using a representative position corresponding to each of the areas E1 to E6 instead of the areas E1 to E6 (themselves). The representative position of the areas E1 to E6 may be, for example, the center of gravity of a polygon whose vertices are the positions of the unloading points included in the area, or the position of the unloading point included in the area that is closest to the center of the area, or any other position.

[0037] When the required distance of a transportation route is included as a transportation route evaluation index, the required distance of the transportation route may be determined using the representative positions of the areas to which each of the unloading locations included in the transportation route belongs. In FIG. 2A, the required distance of a transportation route in which a transportation ship arrives at discharging port 201c in area E1, discharging port 201g in area E3, and discharging port 201n in area E5 in this order may be expressed, for example, as the sum of the straight-line distance between the representative positions of areas E1 and E3 and the straight-line distance between the representative positions of areas E3 and E5. Furthermore, when two consecutive unloading locations belong to the same area, the required distance when transportation is performed between the two unloading locations may be zero. For example, in FIG. 2A, the required distance of a transportation route in which a transportation ship arrives at discharging port 201c and 201d in area E1 in this order may be zero.

[0038] The transport route selection conditions described above are then determined based on the required transport route distance whose details are determined in this manner. The transport route selection conditions as conditions for not selecting a transport route candidate may, for example, prevent a transport route candidate from being selected if the transport route candidate includes a loading and unloading location in an area where the required transport route distance is longer than a predetermined distance. The transport route selection conditions as conditions for selecting a transport route candidate may, for example, select a transport route candidate if the transport route candidate does not include a loading and unloading location in an area where the required transport route distance is longer than a predetermined distance. For example, because areas E1 and E6 have long transport route distances, if areas E1 and E6 are included in the areas to which unloading locations included in the transport route candidate belong, the transport route candidate may be prohibited from being selected as a transport route candidate to be selected in the process of creating a transport plan.

[0039] When the transportation route required time is included as a transportation route evaluation index, the transportation route required time may be determined using the representative positions of the areas to which each of the unloading locations included in the transportation route belongs. In FIG. 2A, the transportation route required time for a transportation route in which a transport ship arrives at discharging port 201c in area E1, discharging port 201g in area E3, and discharging port 201n in area E5 in this order may be expressed as, for example, the sum of the estimated time required for transportation between the representative positions of areas E1 and E3 and the estimated time required for transportation between the representative positions of areas E3 and E5. Furthermore, when two consecutive unloading locations belong to the same area, the estimated time required for transportation between the two unloading locations may be zero. For example, in FIG. 2A, the transportation route required time for a transportation route in which a transport ship arrives at discharging ports 201c and 201d in area E1 in this order may be zero.

[0040] The aforementioned transport route selection conditions are then determined based on the transport route required time determined in this manner. The transport route selection conditions as conditions for not selecting a transport route candidate may, for example, not select a transport route candidate that includes an unloading location in an area where the transport route required time is longer than a predetermined time. Furthermore, the transport route selection conditions as conditions for selecting a transport route candidate may, for example, select a transport route candidate that does not include an unloading location in an area where the transport route required time is longer than a predetermined time. For example, because areas E1 and E6 have long transport route required times, if areas E1 and E6 are included in the areas to which unloading locations included in the transport route candidate belong, the transport route selection conditions may be defined as conditions for not selecting a transport route candidate to prohibit the transport route candidate from being selected as a transport route candidate to be selected in the process of creating a transport plan.

[0041] When a loading and unloading location included in a transportation route is included as a transportation route evaluation index, the location of the loading and unloading location may be determined using a representative location of the area to which the loading and unloading location belongs, or may be determined based on the zone (region) to which the area to which the loading and unloading location belongs. In this case, the positional relationship of the loading and unloading locations included in the transportation route may also be determined using a representative location of the area to which the loading and unloading location belongs, or may be determined based on the region or sea area in which the area to which the loading and unloading location belongs is located.

[0042] For example, the positional relationship between discharge point 201c belonging to area E1, discharge point 201g belonging to area E3, and discharge point 201l belonging to area E5 may be determined using representative positions of areas E1, E3, and E5, or may be determined using the regions of areas E1, E5, and E3 (Hokkaido-Tohoku region, Kanto-Tokai region, Kinki-Chugoku region).

[0043] Then, the above-mentioned transport route selection conditions are determined based on the loading and unloading locations included in the transport route whose positions and positional relationships are determined as described above.

[0044] For example, the conditions for selecting a transportation route may include that the distance required for transportation between a first area to which a first unloading location that is nth in the arrival order belongs and a third area to which a third unloading location that is n+2th in the arrival order belongs is shorter than the distance required for transportation between a first area to which a first unloading location that is nth in the arrival order belongs and a second area to which a second unloading location that is n+1th in the arrival order belongs. Furthermore, for any n, the conditions for selecting a candidate transportation route may include that the distance required for transportation between the first area to which the first unloading location, which is nth in the arrival order, belongs and the third area to which the third unloading location, which is n+2th in the arrival order, belongs is not shorter than the distance required for transportation between the first area to which the first unloading location, which is nth in the arrival order, belongs and the second area to which the second unloading location, which is n+1th in the arrival order, belongs.

[0045] 2A, for example, in a transportation route in which a transport ship arrives at a discharge port 201c belonging to area E1, a discharge port 201n belonging to area E5, and a discharge port 201g belonging to area E3 in this order, the required distance when transportation is performed between areas E1 and E3 is shorter than the required distance when transportation is performed between areas E1 and E5. Therefore, a transportation route selection condition may be defined so that candidate transportation routes in which a transport ship arrives in the order of area E1, area E5, and area E3 (i.e., in an order in which the transport ship passes by and returns) are not selected as candidate transportation routes to be selected in the process of creating a transportation plan.

[0046] Furthermore, for example, the conditions for selecting a transport route may include, as a condition for not selecting a transport route candidate, that two areas containing two consecutive loading and unloading locations in a transport route candidate are areas set as areas where consecutive arrivals of transport means are prohibited from the perspective of transport efficiency, etc. Furthermore, the conditions for selecting a transport route may include, as a condition for selecting a transport route candidate, that two areas containing two consecutive loading and unloading locations in a transport route candidate are not areas set as areas where consecutive arrivals of transport means are prohibited from the perspective of transport efficiency, etc.

[0047] 2A, a transportation route in which a transport ship arrives at the discharging port 201c belonging to area E1 and the discharging port 201e belonging to area E2 in this order is a transportation route from the ocean area on the Pacific coast to the ocean area on the Sea of ​​Japan coast. Therefore, a transportation route selection condition may be set so that a candidate transportation route in which a transport ship arrives in the order of area E1 and E2 (i.e., an order passing through places in a geographical relationship that makes travel difficult regardless of distance) is not selected as a candidate transportation route to be selected in the process of creating a transportation plan.

[0048] Here, one unloading location may be assigned to one area, or may be assigned to multiple areas. FIG. 2A illustrates an example in which discharging port 201b is assigned to two areas E1 and E2. For example, as mentioned above, if a discharging port on the Pacific Ocean side (e.g., discharging ports 201c and 201d) and a discharging port on the Sea of ​​Japan side (e.g., discharging ports 201e and 201f) are selected as transportation routes in the discharging port allocation plan, there is a risk of inefficient transportation. Therefore, from the perspective of transportation efficiency, it is preferable that the discharging port on the Pacific Ocean side and the discharging port on the Sea of ​​Japan side be assigned to different areas. On the other hand, for example, for discharging port 201b, the transportation efficiency does not change significantly between discharging ports on the Pacific Ocean side and discharging ports on the Sea of ​​Japan side. It is preferable that such discharging port 201b be assigned to both area E1 on the Pacific Ocean side and area E2 on the Sea of ​​Japan side. In this way, the unloading point 201b can be included in a transportation route that includes the unloading points 201a, 201c, and 201d, as well as in a transportation route that includes the unloading points 201e and 201f. Therefore, when the content of the transportation route evaluation index is determined using an area, it is possible to prevent a situation in which only one of the transportation routes including the unloading points 201a, 201c, and 201d and the transportation route including the unloading points 201e and 201f can be selected as a transportation route that includes the unloading point 201b.

[0049] 2A illustrates an example in which areas are assigned to the discharge ports 201a to 201p. However, areas may be assigned to loading ports in addition to or instead of discharge ports. When areas are assigned to discharge ports and loading ports, the discharge ports may be assigned to the area for discharge ports, and the loading ports may be assigned to the area for loading ports (i.e., the area to which the discharge ports are assigned may be different from the area to which the loading ports are assigned). Furthermore, an area may be set to which both discharge ports and loading ports can be assigned.

[0050] <<Functions of Each Unit of the Plan Creation Device 100>> An embodiment of the plan creation device 100 that performs the above processing will be described. Here, an example will be given in which the transported objects are raw materials for steel products, the transportation means is a carrier, and the unloading locations include a port (loading port) where the raw materials for steel products are loaded onto the carrier, and a port (discharging port) where the raw materials for steel products are unloaded from the carrier. In the following explanation, the raw materials for steel products will be referred to as raw materials for steel products as necessary. For simplicity of explanation, an example will be given in which only the loading of raw materials for steel is carried out at the loading port, and only the unloading of raw materials for steel is carried out at the discharging port. However, both loading and unloading may be carried out at one port.

[0051] 3 is a diagram (Gantt chart) conceptually illustrating an example of a discharge port vessel allocation plan. In this embodiment, a case where the discharge port vessel allocation plan is a transportation plan is illustrated. For example, the discharge port vessel allocation plan is created by determining, for each carrier, the loading port, the brand and quantity of steel raw materials to be loaded at the loading port, the berth where the carrier ship will dock at the loading port, the arrival time at the loading port (the time of docking at the berth at the loading port), the departure time from the loading port, the discharge port, the brand and quantity of steel raw materials to be unloaded at the discharge port, the berth where the carrier ship will dock at the discharging port, the arrival time at the discharging port (the time of docking at the berth at the discharging port), and the departure time from the discharging port, given the departure time from the loading port.

[0052] 3 illustrates discharge port vessel allocation plans 301a to 301c for three carriers. For example, the discharge port vessel allocation plan 301a determines that a carrier to be allocated in the discharge port vessel allocation plan 301a departs from loading port L1 at time t1, arrives at discharging port U1 at time t2, departs from discharging port U1 at time t3, arrives at loading port L1 at time t4, departs from loading port L1 at time t5, arrives at discharging port U2 at time t6, departs from discharging port U2 at time t7, arrives at discharging port U3 at time t8, and departs from discharging port U3 at time t9. The discharge port vessel allocation plan 301a sets a transport route for the carrier to arrive at loading port L1, discharging port U1, loading port L1, discharging port U2, discharging port U3, loading port L1, discharging port U1, and discharging port U3 in this order. Also, for example, the brand and amount of the steel raw materials to be loaded at each loading port are determined. Similarly, for example, the brand and amount of the steel raw materials to be unloaded at each discharging port are determined.

[0053] In this embodiment, for simplicity of explanation, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a case is illustrated in which the steel raw materials are loaded at one loading port and then unloaded at one or more discharging ports. However, this is not necessarily the case. For example, the discharging port vessel allocation plan may include consecutive arrivals at multiple loading ports. Furthermore, the discharging port vessel allocation plan may include loading the steel raw materials at a certain loading port, unloading the steel raw materials at one or more discharging ports, and then loading the steel raw materials at a loading port other than the loading port.

[0054] 1, the present embodiment illustrates an example in which the plan creation device 100 includes a prior information acquisition unit 101, a candidate acquisition unit 102, a determination unit 103, a selection unit 104, a determination unit 105, and an output unit 106. An example of the contents of each unit included in the plan creation device 100 will be described below.

[0055] <<<Advance Information Acquisition Unit 101>>> The advance information acquisition unit 101 is a functional unit that acquires information that needs to be acquired in advance when the plan creation device 100 performs processing to create a transportation plan (here, a discharging port ship allocation plan). In the following description, the information acquired by the advance information acquisition unit 101 will be referred to as advance acquired information as necessary.

[0056] In this embodiment, the advance information acquisition unit 101 acquires advance information from the input device described above. The advance information acquisition unit 101 also acquires information including information on carriers (transportation means) to be allocated in the discharge port allocation plan, information on loading ports, information on discharging ports, information on raw steel materials at each loading port, information on raw steel materials at each discharging port, information on stocks of raw steel materials of each brand at each steelworks, information on the areas to which each of the discharging ports 201a to 201p belongs, information indicating the contents of the conditions for selecting a transportation route, and information on transportation routes that each carrier can take.

[0057] The information about the carrier vessel includes, for example, the identification information of the carrier vessel, the maximum load capacity of the carrier vessel, and the departure time of the carrier vessel from the first loading port. The information about the loading port includes, for example, the identification information of the loading port and location information of the loading port. Note that the location information may be expressed, for example, as latitude and longitude. The information about the discharging port includes the identification information of the discharging port and location information of the discharging port. The information about the steel raw materials at each loading port includes, for example, the brand and quantity of the steel raw materials to be loaded at the loading port. The information about the steel raw materials at each discharging port includes, for example, the brand and quantity of the steel raw materials to be unloaded at the discharging port. The information about the inventory of each brand of steel raw materials at each steelworks includes, for example, the time trends in the inventory amount of steel raw materials by steelworks and by brand, expected during the period for which the discharging port vessel allocation plan is formulated.

[0058] In this embodiment, for simplicity of explanation, the following cases (a) and (b) are exemplified as transportation route selection conditions (i.e., conditions for excluding a transportation route from candidate transportation routes). (a) The required distance of the candidate transportation route exceeds a threshold. (b) The proposed transport route involves the successive arrival of a transport vessel in multiple areas where successive arrivals are prohibited.

[0059] Here, with regard to the transportation route selection condition (b), the "multiple areas where consecutive arrivals are prohibited" are exemplified as including first to third areas that are located in such a position that the distance required for transportation between the first area where the first unloading location that is nth in the arrival order belongs and the third area where the third unloading location that is n+2th in the arrival order belongs is shorter than the distance required for transportation between the first area where the first unloading location that is nth in the arrival order belongs and the second area where the second unloading location that is n+1th in the arrival order belongs. Also, here, the "multiple areas where consecutive arrivals are prohibited" are exemplified as including two areas that are located in such a position that one of the two consecutive areas in the arrival order is on the Pacific Ocean side and the other is on the Sea of ​​Japan side.

[0060] In the following description, the above-mentioned (a) transportation route selection condition will be referred to as a distance prohibition condition as needed. Also, in the following description, the above-mentioned (b) transportation route selection condition will be referred to as an arrival order prohibition condition as needed. FIG. 2B shows an example of an arrival order prohibition condition for areas E1 to E5 illustrated in FIG. 2A. In FIG. 2B, a double-arrowed line indicates that either order of arrival at the areas indicated on both sides of the double-arrowed line is acceptable. Also, in FIG. 2B, a single-arrowed line pointing to the right (an arrowhead on only the right side) indicates that the arrival order at the area indicated on the left side of the single-arrowed line is earlier than the arrival order at the area indicated on the right side of the single-arrowed line. The above-mentioned (a) and (b) transportation route selection conditions (distance prohibition condition and arrival order prohibition condition) are conditions for not selecting a transportation route candidate. Furthermore, the above-mentioned (a) condition for selecting a transport route (distance prohibition condition) is a condition expressed by the loading and unloading location rather than by area, and the above-mentioned (b) condition for selecting a transport route (arrival order prohibition condition) is a condition expressed by area.

[0061] As mentioned above, the transportation route selection conditions are not limited to the distance prohibition condition and the arrival order prohibition condition. In addition, in this embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, an example is shown in which no area is assigned to the loading port, but an area may be assigned to the loading port as described above.

[0062] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a case is exemplified in which the advance information acquisition unit 101 acquires information on the areas to which each of the discharge terminals 201a-201p is assigned. That is, in this embodiment, a case is exemplified in which the areas to which each of the discharge terminals 201a-201p is assigned are identified by the information. However, this is not necessarily the case. For example, the plan creation device 100 may assign each of the discharge terminals 201a-201p to one or more areas. In this case, the advance information acquisition unit 101 may acquire information indicating the range of the area.

[0063] In addition, in this embodiment, a case where the advance information acquisition unit 101 acquires information on transport routes that each transport ship can take is exemplified. The information on transport routes that each transport ship can take may include, for example, the maximum number of loading ports and discharging ports that each transport ship can arrive at on one transport route. The information on transport routes that each transport ship can take may indicate that all transport routes that the transport ship can take within the range of such maximum numbers are transport routes that the transport ship can take. Furthermore, the information for identifying transport routes that each transport ship can take may include, for example, information indicating which of the loading ports and discharging ports the transport ship can arrive at in a specific arrival order. For example, the information for identifying transport routes that the transport ship can take may include information that the transport ship will first arrive at the loading port.

[0064] In this embodiment, a case will be exemplified in which the advance information acquisition unit 101 acquires the above-described advance acquisition information using the input device.

[0065] <<<Candidate acquisition unit 102>>> The candidate acquisition unit 102 is a functional unit that acquires candidate transportation routes that serve as candidate transportation routes when creating a transportation plan from among transportation routes that can be taken by transportation means. That is, the candidate acquisition unit 102 acquires candidate transportation routes for each transportation means (here, a transport ship) as candidate transportation routes for each transportation means from transportation routes set as transportation routes that can be taken by each transportation means. For example, the transportation routes that can be taken by each transportation means are identified based on pre-acquired information (information on transportation routes that can be taken by each transport ship). Alternatively, the transportation routes that can be taken by each transportation means may be stored in advance in the memory of the plan creation device 100, and the transportation routes may be identified by reading them from the memory as needed. The identification of transportation routes that can be taken by each transportation means may be performed by the candidate acquisition unit 102 or by a unit (identification unit) separate from the candidate acquisition unit 102. Note that the pre-acquired information may include the information on the transportation routes that can be taken by each transportation means as information on the transportation routes that can be taken by each transportation means. In this case, for example, the information is stored in the memory of the plan creation device 100, and transportation routes that can be taken by each transportation means are set.

[0066] Figure 4 shows the carriers S1 to S s 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a candidate transportation route. FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which the transportation route is represented in a tree structure. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows a tree structure in which transport ships S1 to S s is set as a loading port and a discharging port is set as a loading port or a discharging port in other nodes, and the carriers arrive consecutively at the loading and discharging ports set in the two nodes connected by an edge. M1+1 ~L M1+m1 After arriving at one of the following ports, up to three ports of discharge (Discharge Port U) N1+1 ~U N1+n1 , U N2+1 ~U N2+n2 , U N3+1 ~U N3+n3 ) are transport routes arriving at each transport ship S1~S sIn this case, for example, the information on the transport route that each transport ship can take is acquired as information on the transport route that each transport ship can take, such as first arriving at the loading port and then arriving at up to three discharging ports. M1+1 ~L M1+m1 etc.) and discharge port (discharge port U N1+1 ~U N1+n1 , U N2+1 ~U N2+n2 , U N3+1 ~U N3+n3 The identification information of each carrier S1 to S s The information on the possible transport routes is acquired. s As a possible transportation route, the transportation route shown in FIG. 4 is set. s The transport routes that can be taken by the transport ships S1 to S2 are not limited to these transport routes. s As mentioned above, the cargo may travel between multiple loading ports or may travel from the discharging port to the loading port.

[0067] In the example shown in FIG. 4, one carrier (carriers S1 to S s When a candidate with one discharging port is acquired as a candidate for a transportation route of a carrier vessel (one of the above), the candidate acquisition unit 102 selects one loading port from among the loading ports set as candidate loading ports for that carrier vessel, and selects one discharging port from among the discharging ports set as candidate first discharging ports for that carrier vessel, for all combinations of loading ports included in the candidate loading ports and all discharging ports included in the candidate first discharging ports. The candidate acquisition unit 102 selects such a loading port and discharging port for each carrier vessel.

[0068] Similarly, one carrier (carrier S1 to S sWhen two candidates for the transport route (one of the above) are acquired, the candidate acquisition unit 102 selects one loading port from among the loading ports set as candidate loading ports for that one carrier ship, selects one discharging port from among the discharging ports set as candidate first port discharging ports for that one carrier ship, and selects one discharging port from among the discharging ports set as candidate second port discharging ports for that one carrier ship, for all combinations of loading ports included in the candidate loading ports, all discharging ports included in the candidate first port discharging ports, and all discharging ports included in the candidate second port discharging ports. The candidate acquisition unit 102 selects such loading ports and discharging ports for each carrier ship.

[0069] In addition, one carrier (carrier S1~S s When three candidate discharging ports are acquired as candidates for a transportation route of a carrier vessel (one of the above), the candidate acquisition unit 102 selects one loading port from among the loading ports set as candidate loading ports for that carrier vessel, selects one discharging port from among the discharging ports set as candidate first discharging ports for that carrier vessel, selects one discharging port from among the discharging ports set as candidate second discharging ports for that carrier vessel, and selects one discharging port from among the discharging ports set as candidate third discharging ports for that carrier vessel, for all combinations of loading ports included in the candidate loading ports, all discharging ports included in the candidate first discharging ports, all discharging ports included in the candidate second discharging ports, and all discharging ports included in the candidate third discharging ports. The candidate acquisition unit 102 performs such selection of loading ports and discharging ports for each carrier vessel.

[0070] In the following explanation, transportation routes with one, two, and three discharge ports will be referred to as the transportation route closer to port 1, the transportation route closer to port 2, and the transportation route closer to port 3, respectively, as necessary. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing examples of candidates for the transport route of the transport ship S1. M1+1 FIG. 5(b) shows an example of a transport route of the carrier S1 near one port when the loading port candidate is loading port L. M1+1FIG. 5(c) shows an example of a transport route of the carrier S1 near two ports when the loading port candidate is loading port L. M1+1 5(a) to 5(c), an example of a transport route of the carrier S1 near the port 13 is shown. M1+1 In this case, the numbers of transport routes closer to port 1, closer to port 2, and closer to port 3 for the carrier S1 are n1, n1 × n2, and n1 × n2 × n3, respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the number of candidate loading ports for the carrier S1 is m1. Therefore, in the examples shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the numbers of transport routes closer to port 1, closer to port 2, and closer to port 3 for the carrier S1 are n1 × m1, n1 × n2 × m1, and n1 × n2 × n3 × m1, respectively. In the case where n1 is 3, n2 is 7, n3 is 7, and m1 = 1 (the number of candidate loading ports is 1), the numbers of transport routes closer to port 1, closer to port 2, and closer to port 3 for the carrier S1 are 3 (= 3 × 1), 21 (= 3 × 7 × 1), and 147 (= 3 × 7 × 7 × 1), respectively.

[0071] <<<Judgment unit 103>>> The determination unit 103 is a functional unit that determines whether the transportation route candidate acquired by the candidate acquisition unit satisfies the conditions defined based on the index for evaluating the transportation route. That is, the determination unit 103 determines whether the transportation route candidate acquired by the candidate acquisition unit 102 satisfies the transportation route selection conditions. As described above, here, the transportation route selection conditions are conditions that do not select the transportation route candidate. Specifically, the transportation route selection conditions are the transportation route selection conditions (a) and (b) described above (distance prohibition condition and arrival order prohibition condition). Therefore, the determination unit 103 determines whether the transportation route candidate satisfies the transportation route selection conditions, namely, the distance prohibition condition and the arrival order prohibition condition.

[0072] <<<Selection Unit 104>>> The selection unit 104 is a functional unit that selects transportation route candidates to be selected in the process of creating a transportation plan from the transportation route candidates acquired by the candidate acquisition unit 102 based on the determination result by the determination unit 103. That is, the selection unit 104 selects transportation route candidates to be selected in the process of creating a transportation plan (here, a discharging port shipping plan) from the transportation route candidates acquired by the candidate acquisition unit 102 based on the determination result by the determination unit 103. Here, an example is shown of a case where, when the determination unit 103 determines that a transportation route candidate satisfies at least one of the transportation route selection conditions, that is, the distance prohibition condition and the arrival order prohibition condition, the selection unit 104 discards the transportation route candidate without selecting it as a transportation route candidate to be selected in the process of creating a transportation plan (here, a discharging port shipping plan).On the other hand, when the determination unit 103 determines that a transportation route candidate does not satisfy both the transportation route selection conditions, that is, the distance prohibition condition and the arrival order prohibition condition, the selection unit 104 selects and retains the transportation route candidate as a transportation route candidate to be selected in the process of creating a transportation plan (here, a discharging port shipping plan).

[0073] <<<Determining Unit 105>>> The determination unit 105 is a functional unit that, in the process of creating a transportation plan, determines a transportation route to be selected as the transportation plan for each transportation means from among the transportation route candidates selected by the selection unit 104. That is, in the process of creating a transportation plan (here, a discharging port vessel allocation plan), the determination unit 105 determines a transportation route to be selected as the transportation plan for each transportation means (here, a carrier ship) from among the transportation route candidates (transport route candidates to be selected in the process of creating a transportation plan) selected by the selection unit 104. In this way, when creating a transportation plan, the determination unit 105 determines a transportation route to be selected as the transportation plan from the transportation route candidates selected by the selection unit 104. Therefore, the scale of the problem of creating a transportation plan can be reduced.

[0074] The formulation for creating a transportation plan (for example, formulation of an evaluation function using evaluation indicators such as transportation costs and constraint conditions (constraint equations) for transportation) and the solution algorithm (for example, algorithms such as mathematical programming, rule-based methods, and metaheuristics) themselves can be realized by those skilled in the art using well-known techniques, so detailed explanations will be omitted here.

[0075] <<<Output unit 106>>> The output unit 106 is a functional unit that outputs information including the transportation route determined by the determination unit 105. In this embodiment, a case is illustrated in which the output unit 106 outputs information indicating the transportation plan created by the determination unit 105. In this embodiment, a case is illustrated in which the output unit 106 outputs the information indicating the transportation plan using the above-mentioned output device. For example, the output unit 106 may display the information indicating the transportation plan on a computer display, may transmit it to an external device, or may store it in memory.

[0076] <Planning method> Next, an example of the plan creation method of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 6. The processing according to the flowchart of Fig. 6 is realized, for example, by a hardware processor included in the plan creation device 100 executing one or more programs stored in memory. It is also assumed that the advance information acquisition unit 101 has acquired advance acquisition information before the flowchart of Fig. 6 starts.

[0077] In step S601, the candidate acquisition unit 102 selects one transportation means that has not been selected in step S601 from among the transportation means to be included in the transportation plan (here, the carriers to be included in the discharge port vessel allocation plan).

[0078] Next, in step S602, the candidate acquisition unit 102 acquires one candidate that has not yet been acquired from the candidates for the transportation route of the transportation means selected in step S601. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the candidate acquisition unit 102 acquires a candidate for the transportation route of the transportation means selected in step S601 from the transportation routes set as transportation routes that each transportation means can take.

[0079] Next, in step S603, the determination unit 103 determines whether the transport route candidate acquired in step S602 satisfies the transport route selection conditions. In this embodiment, the case where the selection conditions are conditions for not selecting a transport route candidate (specifically, the transport route selection conditions (a) and (b) described above (distance prohibition condition and arrival order prohibition condition)) is exemplified. In this case, if the transport route candidate acquired in step S602 satisfies the transport route selection conditions, it is determined that the transport route candidate is not to be selected. On the other hand, if the transport route candidate acquired in step S602 does not satisfy the transport route selection conditions, it is determined that the transport route candidate is to be selected.

[0080] If the result of the determination in step S603 is that the transportation route candidate acquired in step S602 satisfies the transportation route selection conditions (YES in step S603), the process of step S604 is performed. In step S604, the selection unit 104 discards the transportation route candidate. Then, the process of step S606, which will be described later, is performed.

[0081] On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S603 is that the transportation route candidate acquired in step S602 does not satisfy the transportation route selection conditions (NO in step S603), the process proceeds to step S605. In step S605, the selection unit 104 holds the transportation route candidate. Then, the process proceeds to step S606.

[0082] In step S606, the candidate acquisition unit 102 determines whether or not all candidates for the transportation route for the transportation means selected in step S601 have been acquired. In this embodiment, the candidate acquisition unit 102 determines whether or not all transportation routes set as transportation routes that the transportation means can take have been acquired.

[0083] As a result of the determination in step S606, if all candidates for the transportation route for the transportation means selected in step S601 have not been acquired (NO in step S606), the process of step S602 described above is performed again. Then, the candidate acquisition unit 102 acquires one candidate that has not yet been acquired from the candidates for the transportation route for the transportation means selected in step S601. Then, the process of step S603 and subsequent steps described above is performed for that candidate. The processes of steps S602 to S606 are repeated until the candidate for the transportation route for the transportation means selected in step S601 is acquired in step S602. Then, if it is determined in step S606 that all candidates for the transportation route for the transportation means selected in step S601 have been acquired (YES in step S606), the process of step S607 is performed.

[0084] In step S607, the candidate acquisition unit 102 determines whether all of the transportation means to be included in the transportation plan (here, the carrier ships to be included in the discharge port vessel allocation plan) have been selected. If the result of the determination in step S607 shows that all of the transportation means to be included in the transportation plan have not been selected (NO in step S607), the process of step S601 described above is performed again. Then, the candidate acquisition unit 102 selects one unselected transportation means from the transportation means to be included in the transportation plan. Then, the process from step S602 described above is performed for that transportation means. The processes of steps S601 to S607 are repeated until all of the transportation means to be included in the transportation plan have been selected in step S601. In the repeated processes of steps S602 to S607 for one transportation means, the transportation route candidates retained in the process of step S605 are the transportation route candidates to be used when creating a transportation plan for that transportation means.

[0085] In step S607, when it is determined that all transportation means to be included in the transportation plan have been selected (YES in step S607), the process of step S608 is performed. In step S608, in the process for creating a transportation plan (here, a discharging port vessel allocation plan), the determination unit 105 determines, for each transportation means, a transportation route to be selected as the transportation plan from the transportation route candidates held in step S605. As a result, a transportation plan is created in which the transportation route for each transportation means is determined. Finally, in step S609, the output unit 106 outputs, for example, information indicating the transportation plan created in step S608 as information including the transportation route determined in step S608.

[0086] <Summary> As described above, in this embodiment, the plan creation device 100 selects candidate transport routes to be selected in the process of creating a transportation plan from among the candidate transport routes based on the result of determining whether the candidate transport routes for a transportation means satisfy the transport route selection conditions defined based on the transport route evaluation index. Then, in the process of creating a transportation plan, the plan creation device 100 determines, for each transportation means, the transport route to be selected as part of the transportation plan from among the candidates selected in this manner. Therefore, the scale of the problem of creating a transportation plan can be effectively reduced.

[0087] In this embodiment, the transport route evaluation index includes at least one of the distance required for transport along the transport route, the time required for transport along the transport route, and the loading and unloading locations included in the transport route. This makes it possible to quantitatively evaluate a transport route from the perspective of whether transport along the transport route is efficient. This prevents the overlooking of transport route candidates that should be listed when creating a transport plan, and the selection of transport route candidates that are clearly not adopted in the transport plan. When the loading and unloading locations included in the transport route are included in the transport route evaluation index, multiple unloading locations that are consecutive in the order of arrival of the transport means on the transport route may be used as the unloading locations included in the transport route. This makes it possible to evaluate the efficiency of transport along a portion of the transport route, thereby enabling multifaceted evaluation of the transport route. Furthermore, in this case, the transport route selection condition may be a condition related to the positional relationship between multiple unloading locations that are consecutive in the order of arrival of the transport means. This prevents the selection of a transport route that does not allow efficient transport from the perspective of the positional relationship between multiple unloading locations that are consecutive in the order of arrival of the transport means. The transport route selection condition may be to avoid selecting a transport route that arrives consecutively at multiple unloading locations that prohibit the transport means from arriving consecutively, or to select a transport route that does not arrive consecutively at multiple unloading locations that prohibit the transport means from arriving consecutively. In this way, it is possible to determine whether to select a transport route candidate by comparing the unloading locations included in the transport route candidate with preset information. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of calculation required to determine whether to select a transport route candidate.

[0088] In this embodiment, the unloading location may be assigned to at least one of the multiple areas based on the location of the unloading location. In this case, the content of the transportation route evaluation index may be determined such that the unloading location is the area to which the unloading location is assigned. This can prevent, for example, difficulties in selecting a transportation route that enables efficient transportation and an increase in the calculation time required for selecting (narrowing down) a transportation route. In this case, the same unloading location may be assigned to at least two of the multiple areas. In this way, the transportation route evaluation index and the transportation route selection conditions can be determined assuming that the unloading location is assigned to both of the two areas. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent a transportation route that includes the unloading location from being overlooked. Furthermore, the transportation route evaluation index may include multiple areas in consecutive order of arrival of transportation means. In this case, the transportation route selection conditions may be determined such that multiple unloading locations assigned to the same area can be consecutively arrived by transportation means. In this way, the transportation route selection conditions can be determined without taking into account multiple unloading locations assigned to the same area. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent the content of the transport route selection conditions from becoming complicated and the number of transport route selection conditions from increasing.

[0089] (Other embodiments) The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure can be realized by a computer executing a program. A computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded and a computer program product such as the program can also be applied as embodiments of the present disclosure. Examples of recording media that can be used include flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, and ROMs. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely examples of specific embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure, and the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited by these. In other words, the present disclosure can be embodied in various forms without departing from its technical concept or main features.

[0090] The disclosure of the above embodiment can be implemented as follows, for example. [Disclosure 1] A planning device that creates a transportation plan for a transportation means to transport an object along a transportation route including a plurality of locations where at least one of loading and unloading of the object is performed, a candidate acquisition unit that acquires candidates for a transportation route that will be used as a transportation route when creating the transportation plan, from among the transportation routes that can be taken by the transportation means; a determination unit that determines whether the transportation route candidates acquired by the candidate acquisition unit satisfy conditions that are defined based on indices for evaluating the transportation routes; a selection unit that selects transportation route candidates to be selected in the process of creating the transportation plan from the transportation route candidates acquired by the candidate acquisition unit based on the determination result by the determination unit; a determination unit that determines, for each transportation means, the transportation route to be selected as the transportation plan from the transportation route candidates selected by the selection unit in the process of creating the transportation plan; A plan creation device comprising: [Disclosure 2] The planning device described in Disclosure 1, wherein the index for evaluating the transportation route includes at least one of the distance required when transportation is performed along the transportation route, the time required when transportation is performed along the transportation route, and the location included in the transportation route. [Disclosure 3] The plan creation device according to Disclosure 2, wherein the index for evaluating the transportation route includes a plurality of locations on the transportation route that are consecutive in the order of arrival of the transportation means. [Disclosure 4] The plan creation device according to Disclosure 3, wherein the conditions include a condition regarding a positional relationship between a plurality of locations in which the arrival order of the transportation means is consecutive. [Disclosure 5] The plan creation device according to any one of Disclosures 1 to 4, wherein, when the determination unit determines that the candidate transportation route is a plurality of locations that prohibits transportation means from arriving consecutively, the selection unit does not select the candidate transportation route as a candidate transportation route in the process of creating the transportation plan. [Disclosure 6] a plurality of locations where at least one of loading and unloading of the transported objects is performed is assigned to at least one of the plurality of areas based on the location of the location; The plan creation device according to any one of Disclosures 1 to 5, wherein the content of at least one of the indicators is that the location is defined as an area to which the location is assigned. [Disclosure 7] The plan creation device according to Disclosure 6, wherein the same location is assigned to at least two of the plurality of areas. [Disclosure 8] The indicator includes a plurality of areas in succession in order of arrival of vehicles; The planning device according to Disclosure 6 or 7, wherein the condition is defined such that a transportation means can arrive consecutively at the locations assigned to the same area. [Disclosure 9] the transportation means includes a carrier; The plan creation device according to any one of Disclosures 1 to 8, wherein the locations include a loading port, which is a port where the transported objects are loaded, and a discharging port where the transported objects are unloaded. [Disclosure 10] A planning method for creating a transportation plan for a transportation means to transport an object along a transportation route including a plurality of locations where the object is at least one of loaded and unloaded, the method comprising: a candidate acquisition step of acquiring candidates for transportation routes that will be candidates for the transportation route when creating the transportation plan, from among the transportation routes that the transportation means can take; a determination step of determining whether the transportation route candidates acquired in the candidate acquisition step satisfy conditions defined based on an index for evaluating the transportation route; a selection step of selecting, based on a determination result of the determination step, a transportation route candidate to be selected in the process of creating the transportation plan from among the transportation route candidates acquired in the candidate acquisition step; In the process of creating the transportation plan, the plan creation method includes a determination step of determining, for each transportation means, the transportation route to be selected as the transportation plan from the transportation route candidates selected in the selection step. [Disclosure 11] A program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the plan creation device according to any one of Disclosures 1 to 9. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 100 Planning device 101 Advance Information Acquisition Department 102 Candidate acquisition section 103 Judgment section 104 Selection section 105 Decision Section 106 Output section 201a~201p Unloading point (unloading location) 301a~301c Discharge port and vessel allocation plan E1~E6 area L1~L2 loading port U1~U3 unloading port

Claims

1. A planning device that creates a transportation plan for a transportation means to transport an object along a transportation route including a plurality of locations where at least one of loading and unloading of the object is performed, a candidate acquisition unit that acquires candidates for a transportation route that will be a candidate for the transportation route when creating the transportation plan, from among the transportation routes that the transportation means can take; a determination unit that determines whether the transportation route candidates acquired by the candidate acquisition unit satisfy conditions that are defined based on indices for evaluating the transportation routes; a selection unit that selects transportation route candidates to be selected in the process of creating the transportation plan from the transportation route candidates acquired by the candidate acquisition unit based on the determination result by the determination unit; a determination unit that determines, for each transportation means, the transportation route to be selected as the transportation plan from the transportation route candidates selected by the selection unit in the process of creating the transportation plan; A plan creation device comprising:

2. 2. The plan creation device according to claim 1, wherein the index for evaluating the transport route includes at least one of a required distance when transporting along the transport route, a required time when transporting along the transport route, and the location included in the transport route.

3. The plan creation device according to claim 2 , wherein the index for evaluating the transportation route includes a plurality of locations on the transportation route that are consecutive in the order of arrival of transportation means.

4. The plan creation device according to claim 3 , wherein the conditions include a condition regarding a positional relationship between a plurality of locations in which the arrival order of the transportation means is consecutive.

5. The plan creation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the determination unit determines that the candidate transportation route is a plurality of locations that prohibit transportation means from arriving consecutively, the selection unit does not select the candidate transportation route as a candidate transportation route in the process of creating the transportation plan.

6. a plurality of locations where at least one of loading and unloading of the transported objects is performed is assigned to at least one of the plurality of areas based on the location of the location; 5. The plan creation device according to claim 1, wherein the content of at least one of the indicators is determined such that the location is an area to which the location is assigned.

7. The plan creation device according to claim 6 , wherein the same location is assigned to at least two of the plurality of areas.

8. The indicator includes a plurality of areas in succession in order of arrival of vehicles; The plan creation device according to claim 6 , wherein the condition is defined such that a transportation means can arrive consecutively at the locations assigned to the same area.

9. the transportation means includes a carrier; 5. The plan creation device according to claim 1, wherein the locations include a loading port, which is a port where the transported objects are loaded, and a discharging port where the transported objects are unloaded.

10. A planning method for creating a transportation plan for a transportation means to transport an object along a transportation route including a plurality of locations where the object is at least one of loaded and unloaded, the method comprising: a candidate acquisition step of acquiring candidates for transportation routes that will be candidates for the transportation route when creating the transportation plan, from among the transportation routes that the transportation means can take; a determination step of determining whether the transportation route candidates acquired in the candidate acquisition step satisfy conditions defined based on an index for evaluating the transportation route; a selection step of selecting, based on a determination result of the determination step, a transportation route candidate to be selected in the process of creating the transportation plan from among the transportation route candidates acquired in the candidate acquisition step; a determination step of determining, for each transportation means, the transportation route to be selected as the transportation plan from the transportation route candidates selected in the selection step in the process of creating the transportation plan; A method of creating a plan comprising:

11. A program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the plan creation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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