Abstract
Entities that participate in the same supply chain or that can complement each other can benefit from reductions in their operational costs and increased operating efficiency when collaborating by sharing information and resources or engaging in joint planning. However, setting up successful collaborations is still an active research topic, particularly in the forest sector, due to the lack of a clearly defined road map for bringing collaboration into practice. This paper builds on a comprehensive literature review to propose a framework for developing inter-firm collaboration, particularly for agents of forest-based supply chains. The framework encompasses identification of collaboration opportunities with potential entities, design of the collaborative strategy, and tools for its implementation. The framework is used to discuss cases of collaboration found in the literature. The framework is also applied to developing a new collaborative process in the wood furniture industry.

Abstract
Sectorization problems have significant challenges arising from the many objectives that must be optimised simultaneously. Several methods exist to deal with these many-objective optimisation problems, but each has its limitations. This paper analyses an application of Preference Inspired Co-Evolutionary Algorithms, with goal vectors (PICEA-g) to sectorization problems. The method is tested on instances of different size difficulty levels and various configurations for mutation rate and population number. The main purpose is to find the best configuration for PICEA-g to solve sectorization problems. Performance metrics are used to evaluate these configurations regarding the solutions’ spread, convergence, and diversity in the solution space. Several test trials showed that big and medium-sized instances perform better with low mutation rates and large population sizes. The opposite is valid for the small size instances. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract
The CrossLog project aims to investigate, study, develop and implement an automated and collaborative cross-docking system (aligned with Industry 4.0) capable of moving and managing the flow of products within the warehouse in the fastest and safest way. In CrossLog, the ability to generate intelligent three-dimensional packing patterns is essential to ensure the flexibility and productivity of the cross-docking system while ensuring the stability of the palletised load. In this work, a heuristic solution approach is proposed to generate efficient pallet packing patterns that simultaneously minimise the total number of pallets required and address the balance of weight and volume between pallets. Computational experiments with data from a real company demonstrate the quality of the proposed solution approach.

Abstract
Sectorization is the division of a large area, territory or network into smaller parts considering one or more objectives. Dynamic sectorization deals with situations where it is convenient to discretize the time horizon in a certain number of periods. The decisions will not be isolated, and they will consider the past. The application areas are diverse and increasing due to uncertain times. This work proposes a conceptualization of dynamic sectorization and applies it to a distribution problem with variable demand. Furthermore, Genetic Algorithm is used to obtain solutions for the problem since it has several criteria; Analytical Hierarchy Process is used for the weighting procedure. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract
Sectorization problems, also known as districting or territory design, deal with grouping a set of previously defined basic units, such as points or small geographical areas, into a fixed number of sectors or responsibility areas. Usually, there are multiple criteria to be satisfied regarding the geographic characteristics of the territory or the planning purposes. This work addresses a case study of parcel delivery services in the region of Porto, Portugal. Using knowledge about the daily demand in each basic unit (7-digit postal code), the authors analysed data and used it to simulate dynamically new daily demands according to the relative frequency of service in each basic unit and the statistical distribution of the number of parcels to be delivered in each basic unit. The sectorization of the postal codes is solved independently considering two objectives (equilibrium and compactness) using Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) implemented in Python.

Abstract
Sectorization problems refer to dividing a large set, area or network into smaller parts concerning one or more objectives. A decision support system (DSS) is a relevant tool for solving these problems, improving optimisation procedures, and finding feasible solutions more efficiently. This paper presents a new web-based Decision Support System for Sectorization (D3S). D3S is designed to solve sectorization problems in various areas, such as school and health districting,planning sales territories and maintenance operations zones, or political districting. Due to its generic design, D3S bridges the gap between sectorization problems and a state-of-the-art decision support tool. The paper aims to present the generic and technical attributes of D3S by providing detailed information regarding the problem-solution approach (based on Evolutionary Algorithms), objectives (most common in sectorization), constraints, structure and performance.