{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/81117"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/81117","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The impact of bimodal distribution in ocean transportation transit time on logistics costs : an empirical & theoretical analysis","abstract":"As ocean shipments have increased alongside globalization, transit time uncertainty has increased as well. This problem was observed to have variable levels of impacts on logistics cost and safety stock levels. This thesis examines the effects of bimodality in transit time distributions -in particular, the cost of ignoring bimodality. One method common in practice is to completely ignore variability. On the other hand, a popular theoretical method to account for transit time variability is to assume that demand over transit time is normally distributed. Which is, in many cases, false. To display the incorrectness of such assumptions, the paper will compare the two approaches to empirical analysis on bimodal transit time distributions.","abstract_html":"As ocean shipments have increased alongside globalization, transit time uncertainty has increased as well. This problem was observed to have variable levels of impacts on logistics cost and safety stock levels. This thesis examines the effects of bimodality in transit time distributions -in particular, the cost of ignoring bimodality. One method common in practice is to completely ignore variability. On the other hand, a popular theoretical method to account for transit time variability is to assume that demand over transit time is normally distributed. Which is, in many cases, false. To display the incorrectness of such assumptions, the paper will compare the two approaches to empirical analysis on bimodal transit time distributions.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Das, Lita"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Chris Caplice."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013","date_published":"2013","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:08Z","subjects":["Engineering Systems Division."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. 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This problem was observed to have variable levels of impacts on logistics cost and safety stock levels. This thesis examines the effects of bimodality in transit time distributions -in particular, the cost of ignoring bimodality. One method common in practice is to completely ignore variability. On the other hand, a popular theoretical method to account for transit time variability is to assume that demand over transit time is normally distributed. Which is, in many cases, false. 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