Abstract:

Pharmaceutical cold chain transportation has the characteristics of high cost, timeliness, high coordination and complexity. A multi-criteria function based on the attributes of cost, transportation time, cargo damage rate and default rate was designed to determine the carrier's valuation. An online multi-attribute reverse auction mechanism was proposed, which made all the attributes that shippers cared about into the core procedures of auction allocation and payment, and provided method guidance for pharmaceutical cold chain shippers to customize multi-attribute transportation services. The research results proved that the mechanism satisfied incentive compatibility and individual rationality, and demonstrated its effect in practical application through an example. The designed mechanism not only met the needs of shippers, but also reduced the procurement cost, and promoted the safe, stable and effective development of pharmaceutical cold chain transportation services.

Key words: pharmaceutical cold chain logistics, transportation service procurement, multi-attribute online auction, incentive compatibility, safe and effective