How efficient is city logistics? Estimating ecological footprints for urban freight deliveries

Es una ponencia de The Sixth International Conference on City Logistics, en Puerto Vallarta, México http://toc.proceedings.com/18996webtoc.pdfIn medium and large cities, the delivery of goods represents a significant contribution to the problems of congestion, lack of parking, pollution and energy consumption. The characteristics of this type of transport are also very different from passenger mobility, even though they are often assimilated, due to the lack of specific tools for estimation and analysis, and also of indicators to evaluate improvements in the systems of urban goods distribution. In this work, we start by developing a systematic model to estimate the transport of goods in a city, according to the particularities of its supply and demand. This model can then be used to determine with a high level of detail the contribution of the delivery of goods to the ecological footprint of the city, thus proposed as the key indicator of the efficiency of this type of transport. The work is applied to the city of Seville, in Spain.Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology DPI2008-0647

A top-down methodology to calculate the CO2-footprint for terminal operations; the 6-step approach

There is an increasing need for green and effective operations at terminals and in port due to existing and upcoming stricter air quality standards and regulations. At the same time there is an increasing awareness of the need to reduce energy consumption of ports and terminals and to focus on the carbon footprint which is dependent not only on equipment and operations, but also the energy mix and the management of energy consumption. This is an important objective for the terminals but also for a wide variety of stakeholders, such as port authorities and transport service clients. Sustainable terminal operations require a good insight in terminal configurations, the use of equipment and the availability of reliable data about the energy consumption on the terminal. This information is in many cases not available for a variety of reasons, such as the very competitive environment and the competition between terminals, sometimes simply because the information is not known. In this deliverable an innovative top-down approach is presented to calculate the CO2-emissions of terminals. This methodology is named ‘the 6-step-approach’. This approach can be considered as an easy applicable tool to get a brief and coherent overview of the total energy consumption of a terminal. The 6-step approach is a standardised methodology which is coherent with CEN standard CEN 16258 “Methodology for calculation and declaration of energy consumption and GHG emissions of transport services (freight and passengers)”. The CEN standard contributes to the standardisation, comprehensiveness, transparency, consistency, generalization and predetermination. __The methodology consists of 6 steps:__ 1- the operations on the terminal (what is actually happening?) 2- the construction of an analytical model of activities 3- the development of an algorithm based on the analytical model 4- application of the model (preferably with real data, presently mostly based on estimations) 5- valorisation of the outcomes of the model 6- policy recommendations In coherence with the consumption scheme based on the GHG Protocol or to ISO 14064 standard and the CEN EN 16258 standard, the methodology concentrates on three domains of energy consumption: the terminal operations and related equipment, the consumption of reefers and the lighting of the yard. These three elements cover more than 95% of all energy consumption at a terminal. An important contribution of the 6-step approach to the port community is the fact that the model delivers outcomes that can function as the basis for tailor made recommendations that cover almost all activities. Therefore the main objective of the tool is that it can function as a benchmark tool for companies, port authorities, E.U., WorldBank/IMF/OECD, etc. (policy investment). Furthermore the application of tool can be considered as a basis for evaluation (rising awareness and motivation to use energy competently and thoughtfully), organizational investments (modifying operations to increase productivity versus energy consumption), technical modification investments (modifying equipment and systems to reduce consumption/increase productivity), technical purchase investments (put new equipment/systems into operation). But overall, the 6-step approach is a source for inspiration, it gives structure to process and the methodology recognizes the new challenges: to apply the model as a a pro-active methodology that addresses the economic (profit), environmental (planet), and social objectives (people) in one coherent strategy. By doing this, the 6-step approach offers an opportunity for cooperation and interaction between the private firms su

Divergent effects of container port choice incentives on users' behavior

Port choice decisions are often considered to be based on unambiguous choice criteria. The authors examine how port users' evaluation of these criteria can differ and how this may affect actors' incentive structure and decision making, and ultimately port performance. Apart from ports' physical characteristics, the paper considers port policy and freight market conditions as components of actors' incentive structures. As port users interact, each actor's decision making has consequences for the incentives offered to others – with an important role for strategic behavior. The aggregate of port users' decisions affects a port's throughput, cargo composition, and value added, and has implications for handling efficiency. This paper combines these insights within an overarching framework linking port characteristics, policy, and freight market conditions to port user choice behavior and the consequences for ports. The paper explores various facets of this framework using the case of how the Port of Rotterdam competes along the Hamburg–Le Havre range, drawing on port throughput data on various levels of detail and in-depth interviews with a representative selection of port stakeholders. It shows that there is a downside to ports being particularly attractive to carriers, in that the port that offers the most incentives to carriers disproportionately attracts relatively low-value activities: inefficient calls and a large share of empty containers, along with a strong import/export imbalance. Interview findings contextualize the findings from the data and elaborate further on the mechanisms underpinning these observations. Most importantly, the attractiveness of a port for carriers does not always translate into attractiveness for shippers. The challenge for port policy is to balance the port's positioning toward its different categories of users and achieve a congruent value proposition for all port users

Identifying Dominant Stakeholder Perspectives on Sustainability Issues in Reefer Transportation

Driven by global climate concerns, seaports have formulated sustainability goals, which also require sustainability gains in the fast growing temperature-controlled logistics market—increasing energy e ciency, reducing waste, and streamlining logistics processes. This, however, requires cooperation and buy-in from a wide range of stakeholders. To explore the barriers and facilitators of such a transition, we map the interests and attitudes of cold chain actors in the Port of Rotterdam regarding sustainability issues in reefer transportation and cold chains. We identify a limited number of broadly shared perspectives using Q-methodology—a survey-based method to study subjective viewpoints (originating from psychology) that has been used only rarely in the freight transport field. The analysis yields four ‘dominant’ perspectives that together account for 46% of the variation among stakeholder viewpoints. We label these perspectives “sustainability as part of strategy”, “short term constraints”, “optimistic about technology, limited role for policy”, and “long run willingness under risk avoidance.” These perspectives are characterized by multiple factors, including the evaluation of organizational capabilities, expectations from policymakers and technology, and the time horizon stakeholder organizations consider regarding sustainability concerns. From the findings, we derive recommendations for managers and policy makers to facilitate stakeholder dialogue and possibly convergence and coalition building

The reefer container market and academic research: A review study

The refrigerated (or ‘reefer’) container market grows rapidly. Researchers and sector stakeholders increasingly realize that this container market segment has its distinct dynamics and demands. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the reefer container sector, its most important characteristics and trends, and a systematic review of the academic literature on reefer containers and logistics. First the authors outline the characteristics, composition, and development of the reefer container market, showing its growth through modal shift (from conventional reefer ships and airfreight) and differentiation into new cargo markets and niche services. Secondly the authors outline reefer chains in terms of their relevant stages, stakeholders, and processes. Data on insurance claims shows that cold chain failure and cargo loss not only occur due to technical failures, but just as often due to organizational errors – especially due to hold-up risk at container transfer points. Thirdly the authors map the present knowledge on reefer containers and reefer transportation through a systematic literature review. The current body of research on reefer containers consists mostly of highly specialized, technical studies on product characteristics and quality preservation, monitoring and control, refrigeration technology, and temperature management. While technological advances in these fields have largely enabled the containerization of cold logistics chains, the first sections of this paper also highlight that many current pressing issues in reefer transportation are logistical and organizational in nature. Therefore, the authors propose a research agenda addressing these overlooked aspects, including supply chain coordination issues and implications of reefer market developments for port policy

The ostensible tension between competition and cooperation in ports

Strategic alliances in the container shipping sector, and requirements imposed by consolidated hinterland modalities such as trains and barges, have resulted in container terminals facing increasing pressures to cooperate to handle increasingly intertwined container flows. However, concession agreements and market conditions often also pressure terminals to compete. This paper aims to help understand how pressures for competition and cooperation conflict, what problems this causes, what drives these tensions, and how these can be resolved. The drivers of port competitiveness are generally conceptualized as straightforward criteria related to costs, efficiency, location, and infrastructure. Because of the focus on these ‘hard’, quantifiable factors, the qualitative relational underpinnings of port performance are often overlooked. This paper explores how inter-organizational relations function as a major underpinning of port performance and competitiveness. Interviews with a representative selection of stakeholders in the Port of Rotterdam reveal the problems that can occur when cooperation between terminals is under pressure. These problems relate to deficiencies in inter-organizational relationships, which do not tend to arise spontaneously in a competitive context. This paper provides a framework that helps understand how firms can simultaneously balance pressures for competition and imperatives for cross-firm integration and cooperation. Several technical and organizational solutions are suggested, but effective implementation depends on various tacit factors – including trust, shared values, and a sense of community – that determine stakeholders’ willingness to commit and cooperate

Stadsbevoorrading via een urban consolidation centre

De bevoorrading van steden staat aan de vooravond van grote veranderingen. De drukte in stedelijke gebieden neemt toe, het aantal inwoners groeit en het aantal zendingen naar zowel particulieren als retailers stijgt. Tegelijkertijd moet de stad leefbaar blijven. De behoefte aan autoluwe gebieden groeit en we willen de CO2-uitstoot van transport verlagen om klimaatverandering te beperken.1 Dit betekent dat er nieuwe manieren gevonden moeten worden om de stad slim, schoon en veilig te bevoorraden

Niet winkeldag

Deze week vliegen de kortingen je om de oren. Iedere zichzelf respecterende ondernemer probeert de consument te verleiden met geweldige kortingspercentages op producten die net ervoor een kunstmatig iets verhoogde prijzen hebben gekregen zodat het voordeel ogenschijnlijk voor de consument maar vooral ook voor de winkelier enorm is...…… Kortom, het is de week van ‘Black Friday’

Slim bewegen tussen haven en stad

Wat moet de havenstad Rotterdam gaan doen met alle toekomstige kansen en bedreigingen? Welke disruptieve veranderingen zijn bij uitstek geschikt voor de haven- en stadsontwikkeling en welke ontwikkelingen zien wij op ons afkomen? Op welke manier kunnen we daar op inspelen met het onderzoek en het onderwijs? Welke nieuwe kennis op het gebied van verandermanagement, informatica en logistiek is nodig om als logisticus van de toekomst goed te kunnen blijven anticiperen op innovaties