Reem Khir and her team were awarded the Best Application Paper at the 2023 IISE Conference for their work on the paper “Two-stage sort planning for express parcel delivery”. Since the initial publication of the paper in 2021, Khir joined Purdue as an Assistant Professor in the School of Industrial Engineering in the Production Systems area. 

 

The paper discusses different approaches for planning two-stage parcel sort operations considering time deadlines and sorting capacities. Parcel delivery services have recently experienced a rapid increase in volume due to e-commerce growth, and efficient sortation systems are needed to sustain this level of demand. 

 

Two-stage sorting involves the initial sortation of parcels into groups by a primary sorter followed by final sortation at secondary stations. The team developed and analyzed a model that could be used to determine optimized solutions for parcel sortation. According to the paper, “The proposed approach can be used by operations managers to design cost-optimal plans for primary sort systems while meeting objectives for on-time delivery.” The model’s effectiveness was demonstrated by applying real-world situations from a parcel delivery service provider.

 

Khir, R., Erera, A., & Toriello, A. (2021). Two-stage sort planning for express parcel delivery. IISE Transactions, 53(12), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/24725854.2021.1889078