Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to figure out in which way a hinterland-based inland depot model can help a shipping company in solving the empty container problem at a regional level. The repositioning of empty containers is a very expensive operation that does not generate profits. Consequently, it is very important to provide an efficient empty container management.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the empty container problem is discussed at a regional repositioning level. For solving this problem, a mixed-integer linear optimization model is developed and validated by using the German hinterland as a case.
Findings
The findings show that the hinterland-based solution is able to reduce the total system costs by 40 per cent. In addition, total of truck kilometres could be reduced by more than 30 per cent too.
Research limitations/implications
This research is based on German data only.
Originality/value
This paper closes the gap in empty container repositioning research by looking at the hinterland dimension from a single shipping company point of view.
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