Increased competition in the transport market has led to new cooperative arrangements between third-party logistics
providers in the form of hub-and-spoke systems. In addition to the design problem, the operative planning task of
a hub-and-spoke network is a challenging task for the management of such transportation networks. In particular, the
transport management has to decide whether a pure hub-and-spoke system should be realized, where all quantities
within the transportation network
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ow over the hub from or to the depots, or whether a hybrid hub-and-spoke network
is preferred in which direct transports also take place. Mathematical models for these operative planning tasks are
developed and applied to a real case of an Austrian parcel service provider. While the actual problem is taken from a real
parcel service provider the model can also be applied in the general cargo industry. Cost savings of the hybrid
hub-and-spoke system are described.