A Decision Support System and its Application for International Sea-Rail Multimodal Freight Transportation Operations (Uluslararasi Deniz-Demir Yolu Kombine Yuk Tasimaciligi Operasyonlari İcin Bir Karar Destek Sistemi Ve Uygulamasi)

Multimodal transportation generally refers to international freight transport using a combination of at least two different transport modes rather than a single such as trucks used in road transportation. Multimodal transportation has been studied in the literature to develop more effective and efficient methods to carry freight; yet, pricing policy has not been examined thoroughly. The fixed price is the main policy adopted in freight transport sector in Turkey. However, revenues at the operational level may be increased by applying dynamic pricing approaches, which have been commonly used in the airline and hospitality sectors. In this study, a revenue-driven web-based decision support system is developed for international sea-rail multimodal freight transport operations. A web-based prototype is designed that involves the user interface, logic interface and database to present the operational planning outputs of the project entitled Ship2Rail. The underlying ER model is described and the working principles of the data model used in the database design is explained. Furthermore, the elements of fixed and dynamic pricing policies depending on the demand behavior and time constraint are discussed.