Determining collaborative profits in coalitions formed by two partners with varying characteristics

Horizontal logistic collaboration offers a great opportunity for companies to reduce their distribution costs. By forming a coalition and carrying out a joint operational plan, companies are able to achieve a larger profit. The extent of this profit is, however, highly dependent on the partners that form the coalition and the characteristics of their operations. Different companies might have different requirements and could enforce different restrictions on the joint operational plan. In this paper, we discuss a simulation study carried out to analyse the effects of different partner characteristics on the coalition's performance. We evaluate coalitions formed by partners with different characteristics, and analyse how these complement each other. In this way, we are able to identify opportunities for very profitable collaborations that are missed by other studies.