Are City Logistics Solutions Sustainable? The Cityporto case

Urban logistics is a field that studies the best solutions for urban freight distribution with high environmental objectives. However, most actions are started by public authorities without taking into account the impacts of the new organizational schemas in the existing distribution enterprises' organization. This paper sets out to show that urban logistics approaches are currently important with reference to the noise and pollution in city center. To this end, we present the success experience of Cityporto (Padoua) in Italy. Cityporto is a service which makes deliveries in city centre by using GPL and electric lorries. So, the service is considered as less polluting as a conventional approach. In this context, it allows a delivery at any time of the day, also in the Limited Traffic Zone which is closed at certain hours of the day. This is based on the findings from an exploratory qualitative approach. Documentary analysis several interviews have be made. These concern three internal stakeholders of Interporto di Padova (the company which manages the intermodal platform of Padova, in charge of Cityporto) and one member of Padova's Municipality (which promote the project). The results of this case study show that environmental aspect is one of the foundations of the project, but the economic continuity has to be first ensured. Indeed, the preservation of this service on the long term is subjected to its solvency. Moreover, its success is associated to the recognition by employees, and also customers. With regard to the collected information, it is possible to propose a balanced scorecard, where three axes emerged in connexion with economic, environmental and social dimensions. The paper makes a contribution to the evaluation and measurement of city urban logistics using a success story that has been developed from the practitioner perspective. This experience could provide a basis for further practices in Italy and other European countries. In conclusion, the proposed case study is presented for its academic, policy and managerial implications. This experience conceptualises city logistics in relation with the Sustainable Development, setting the main objectives and steps of urban planning for freight distribution and logistics issues. But above all, it provides an understanding of the key success factors in a green transport organisation which can become a pivotal position in the upstream supply chain. De facto, the study should facilitate the implementation of green urban logistics taking into account the importance of the project's economic continuity.City logistics, sustainability, case study, qualitative research, management

The evaluation of E-business related technologies in the Railway Industry

For the purposes of this paper, e-business is defined as: "the performance, automisation and organisation of transactions, or chains of them, and the gathering and publishing of data, electronically over a communication protocol" Little research has been conducted either into how e-business technology can be successfully evaluated, or into the associated costs and benefits specifically related to the transportation and railway industries. Based upon a review of the current literature and a series of interviews held with railway operators, track managers and transportation customers from the Australian Fortune 100, the paper puts forward a framework for the evaluation of e-business investments within the railway industry. The research reported here is aimed at developing a flexible interface that enables the decision maker to assess and evaluate a wide variety of complex interacting variables. The proposed approach uses a variety of evaluation methods, as opposed to searching for a single "best" approach. Additionally, an attempt is being made to include the complex interaction between the implementation of the new technology and the changing organisational setting. A model is proposed using fuzzy logic to handle incomplete and uncertain knowledge; as well as to combine criteria within a conceptual model from which "real-worth" evaluations can be performed. This model provides a systematic approach to guide the decision maker in the deployment of e-business and emerging technologies in the industry. After discussing the main findings from a literature review on the use of evaluation frameworks in IT related projects, the paper deals with the proposed framework in detail. The use of empirical data, which was obtained transportation customers to help define the main framework factors, is also discussed. Finally, the paper summarises the main implications for rail freight of customers’s perceptions and stated needs in the e-business domain

National freight transport planning: towards a Strategic Planning Extranet Decision Support System (SPEDSS)

This thesis provides a `proof-of-concept' prototype and a design architecture for a Object Oriented (00) database towards the development of a Decision Support System (DSS) for the national freight transport planning problem. Both governments and industry require a Strategic Planning Extranet Decision Support System (SPEDSS) for their effective management of the national Freight Transport Networks (FTN). This thesis addresses the three key problems for the development of a SPEDSS to facilitate national strategic freight planning: 1) scope and scale of data available and required; 2) scope and scale of existing models; and 3) construction of the software. The research approach taken embodies systems thinking and includes the use of: Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA/D) for problem encapsulation and database design; artificial neural network (and proposed rule extraction) for knowledge acquisition of the United States FTN data set; and an iterative Object Oriented (00) software design for the development of a `proof-of-concept' prototype. The research findings demonstrate that an 00 approach along with the use of 00 methodologies and technologies coupled with artificial neural networks (ANNs) offers a robust and flexible methodology for the analysis of the FTN problem domain and the design architecture of an Extranet based SPEDSS. The objectives of this research were to: 1) identify and analyse current problems and proposed solutions facing industry and governments in strategic transportation planning; 2) determine the functional requirements of an FTN SPEDSS; 3) perform a feasibility analysis for building a FTN SPEDSS `proof-of-concept' prototype and (00) database design; 4) develop a methodology for a national `internet-enabled' SPEDSS model and database; 5) construct a `proof-of-concept' prototype for a SPEDSS encapsulating identified user requirements; 6) develop a methodology to resolve the issue of the scale of data and data knowledge acquisition which would act as the `intelligence' within a SPDSS; 7) implement the data methodology using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) towards the validation of it; and 8) make recommendations for national freight transportation strategic planning and further research required to fulfil the needs of governments and industry. This thesis includes: an 00 database design for encapsulation of the FTN; an `internet-enabled' Dynamic Modelling Methodology (DMM) for the virtual modelling of the FTNs; a Unified Modelling Language (UML) `proof-of-concept' prototype; and conclusions and recommendations for further collaborative research are identified

Method of supply chain optimization in E-commerce

Rapid development of technologies and their penetration into all sectors generates a wide range of streamlining of production and trade processes. Electronic commerce is the area in which information and communication technology (ICT) is an essential and indispensable element. It is based on the use of e-commerce systems. An e-commerce system combines several parts consisting of customers, suppliers (sellers, dealers, producers, businessmen, etc.), the web server (web interface), the information system (ERP, CRM, the database system), the payment system, the dispatch system and the legislature itself. All these subsystems must be managed both at the operational level and in terms of the whole e-commerce system. E-commerce systems are tools meant to support the supply chain (SC), the quality of which as well as other parts of the e-commerce system largely depend on management processes representing supply chain management (SCM). The optimal way to ensure the success of SCM is to use the methods of modelling and simulation based on appropriate models and mathematical representation of a real SC. Such models are constructed with the use of process and value-chain oriented approaches or based on the concept of multi-agent systems. Different types of models in conjunction with a suitable mathematical representation allow us to perform the simulation process which outputs can help managers make suitable decisions. The paper aims at presenting contemporary approaches to the supply chain modelling within e-commerce systems. Moreover, the case study emphasized hereby is oriented to present the sample simulation approach in order to find the optimal allocation of resources which are meant to minimize shipping costs.e-commerce system, supply chain, supply chain management, warehouse, allocation of resources

A new open-source system for strategic freight logistics planning: the SYNCHRO-NET optimization tools

Globalization and e-commerce facilities have yielded in the recent years an incredibly huge increment of freight movements. Consequently, the underlying supply chains have become more and more complex to manage for the shipping companies, in terms of costs, distances, times, and environmental sustainability. SYNCHRO-NET, a H2020 European research project, aims to de-stress the international supply chains by fostering cost-effective and greener transportation alternatives. Besides other important actions, the SYNCHRO-NET framework provides an optimization and simulation toolset to support decision-making in freight logistics planning at a strategic level. The synchronized use of different transportation modes and the exploitation of smart steaming strategies for ship movements are the two main aspects considered in this innovative optimization system. In this paper, we present the optimization toolset developed, its contribution with respect to the existing platforms, and the experimental set-up implemented to evaluate its performance, usability, and effectiveness. The system is, in fact, currently under evaluation by several world-wide leading companies in freight logistics and transportation. However, the toolset potentialities go beyond the SYNCHRO-NET context, being the system an open-source project that makes use of open data formats and technologies

Proactive model to determine information technologies supporting expansion of air cargo network

Shippers and recipients expect transportation companies to provide more than just the movement of a package between points; certain information must be available to them as well, to enable forecasts and plans within the supply chain. The transportation companies also need the information flow that undergirds a transportation grid, to support ad-hoc routing and strategic structural re-alignment of business processes. This research delineates the information needs for an expanding air cargo network, then develops a new model of the information technologies needed to support expansion into a new country. The captured information will be used by shippers, recipients, and the transportation provider to better guide business decisions. This model will provide a method for transportation companies to balance the tradeoffs between the operating efficiencies, capital expenditures, and customer expectations of their IT systems. The output of the model is a list of technologies – optimized by cost – which meet the specific needs of internal and external customers when expanding air cargo networks into a new country

LUTI models, freight transport and freight facility location

The subject of this book is the new scientific research in the field of modelling the interaction between land use and transport (LUTI modelling). Transport and the location of activities in space have been important themes of study in engineering, social sciences and urban and regional plannin