A services operations performance measurement framework for multimodal logistics gateways in emerging megaregions

Gateways in emerging megaregions have the available transport infrastructure that could support modal shift and sustainable development and more could be made of them. A gateway is not a defined administration area but rather a functional economic area. Typically it has some port, airport, rail hub and logistics clusters and is key to the regional economy. Existing policies try to achieve an optimisation of the performance of multimodal logistic chains and transport infrastructure, including making greater use of inherently more resource efficient modes, where other technological innovations may be insufficient (e.g. long-distance freight). Emerging megaregions rely heavily on global logistics operations to supply their population, the majority of which is living in metropolitan areas with a higher concentration of greenhouse gases and a heavy concentration of multiple-layer logistics and transport operations, and other urban functions. To address these issues, there is a need for more efficient traffic management solutions, a stronger shift away from road transportation towards more environmentally friendly modes both for freight and for passengers but most importantly the adoption of an integrated methodological approach when assessing existing and planned transport infrastructure by the decision makers with respect to sustainable development. This research provides a novel approach to the literature of performance evaluation of modal shift and transport infrastructure service quality by capturing the involved stakeholders’ perceptions and expectations. The application and combination of the importanceperformance analysis (IPA) and analytical hierarchical process (AHP) model in an intermodal transport infrastructure regional case study provides a straightforward methodology for the assessment of sustainable development as a result of an industrial survey. In addition added value is provided to the literature for long term scenarios’ planning for sustainable transport infrastructure

An industry-level analysis of the post-Brexit and post-Covid 19 Ro-Ro ferry market and critical maritime freight transport links between the UK and the EU

Evaluating supply chain system improvements and international economic integration patterns to changes in expenditure requires urgent attention from short to long-term supply chain disruption review. Following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, the UK and the global economies have been affected. Brexit has affected sectors that rely on cross-border commerce with EU countries, while services that require face-to-face interaction have been negatively impacted by Covid 19. For example, the Roll on Roll off (RoRo) ferry sector has suffered tremendously from the Covid 19 pandemic, which restricts people's travel, and Brexit, which results in the UK having a geographical barrier with the rest of the EU continent. The study examines the ferry RoRo market, maritime links, and its viability in the face of Brexit and the Covid issue between the United Kingdom and short-sea shipping connections with Ireland and continental Europe. Understanding the market is critical since roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) traffic plays a significant part in the movement of products between the UK and the EU. Adopting a method mapping provided a defined research paradigm for this study. Mixed-method design technique, a branch of multiple methods research, was employed, resulting in a better understanding of the research topic. The findings demonstrate that nations and the RoRo freight supply chain network have been significantly impacted. However, continuous measures are implemented to ensure continuous freight movement. The study obtained data from 14 respondents and was statistically analysed. The results demonstrate that an organisation's capacity to manage these disturbances significantly impacts its survivability. It also indicates that the government's awareness of the implications of Brexit and Covid 19 significantly determines the impact on organisations. This research concludes that the impact on organisations is minimal, notwithstanding the effects of Brexit and Covid. However, owing to uncertainties, continuous methods for continuous freight transit should be implemented, together with an adequate flow of information

The impact of transport infrastructure projects on sustainable development within a major logistics gateway in North West England

In the North West of England the issue of a perceived infrastructure gap is of increasing concern. Investment needs to be made to improve the transport infrastructure of the region if it is to be expected to promote the development of its own regional logistics gateway. Funding tools have been set up to address the challenges arising from the imbalance in infrastructure development that exists between regions in the north of the United Kingdom and those in the south. For regions with well developed economies the outlook is promising as the availability of modern transport infrastructure looks set to improve. However, some sources believe that the development of new transport infrastructure will have a negative impact upon sustainable development. It is expected that this will occur in a range of both direct and indirect ways. As a result, it is critical that planning for the creation of new intermodal transport infrastructure, or the upgrading of that which already exists, takes into account the impact that these developments will have on the sustainable development of the host region. A scenario based development methodology is proposed in this paper. It was developed to provide a way to identify potential scenarios that may arise within a given region as a result of transport infrastructure projects. To create significant scenarios the methodology is dependent on the availability of a sufficient quantity of quality data. For this paper that data was collected through a focus group composed of stakeholders from the region in question. This was further supported by the performance of an impact survey using the same group of stakeholders

An integrated fuzzy risk assessment for seaport operations

Seaport operations are characterised by high levels of uncertainty, as a result their risk evaluation is a very challenging task. Much of the available data associated with the system’s operations is uncertain and ambiguous, requiring a flexible yet robust approach of handling both quantitative and qualitative data as well as a means of updating existing information as new data becomes available. Conventional risk modelling approaches are considered to be inadequate due to the lack of flexibility and an inappropriate structure for addressing the system’s risks. This paper proposes a novel fuzzy risk assessment approach to facilitating the treatment of uncertainties in seaport operations and to optimise its performance effectiveness in a systematic manner. The methodology consists of a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, an evidential reasoning (ER) approach, fuzzy set theory and expected utility. The fuzzy analytical hierarchy process is used to analyse the complex structure of seaport operations and determine the weights of risk factors while ER is used to synthesise them. The methodology provides a robust mathematical framework for collaborative modelling of the system and allows for a step by step analysis of the system in a systematic manner. It is envisaged that the proposed approach could provide managers and infrastructure analysts with a flexible tool to enhance the resilience of the system in a systematic manner

The development of intermodal freight transport in Poland from 2007 to 2016: Barriers and opportunities to its further development

International transport has grown dynamically in Poland since it becomes a European Union (EU) member. This being the case, it is now, more than ever, important to identify the approaches that are most suitable for delivering sustainable freight transport to the nation. Intermodal options appear to be the most appropriate for this task. This study examines the development of intermodal freight transport in Poland from 2007 to 2016. It considers the barriers overcome and that remain to be overcome as well as identifying opportunities for further development. Initially, secondary data sourced from the Główny Urząd Statystyczny, Urząd Transportu Kolejowego and Eurostat databases, was utilised to explore the situation. This was then reinforced by primary data collection, in the form of a survey, the aim of which being to validate the reviewed literature and the findings of the derived from the database data with the subjective perspective of the respondents. It was found that although the prevalence of intermodal transport has an upward trend in Poland its uptake remains significantly lower than in other EU member states. The major issue inhibiting the development of intermodal transport in Poland is the condition of the nation’s infrastructure. This is accompanied by an element of concern for the external costs generated by intermodal carriers. However, Poland’s participation in a range of EU funded projects that support the modernisation of its ageing infrastructure has been, and remains, a major driving force behind the ongoing development of the intermodal transportation of freight within the country

A systematic literature review of modern slavery through benchmarking global supply chain

Purpose: The globalisation of supply chains has contributed to modern slavery by degrading labour standards and work practices. The inherent difficulties involved in monitoring extremely fragmented production processes also render workers in and from developing countries vulnerable to labour exploitation. This research adopts a benchmark methodology that will help examine the inherent modern slavery challenges. Design/methodology/approach: This study examines how the benchmark model, including governance, risk assessment, purchasing practice, recruitment and remedy of victims, addresses supply chain modern slavery challenges. The proposed hypotheses are tested based on the reoccurring issues of modern slavery in global supply chains. Findings: Estimations suggest that modern slavery is a growing and increasingly prominent international problem, indicating that it is the second largest and fastest growing criminal enterprise worldwide except for narcotics trafficking. These social issues in global supply chains have drawn attention to the importance of verifying, monitoring and mapping supply chains, especially in lengthy and complex supply chains. However, the advent of digital technologies and benchmarking methodologies has become one of the existing key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring the effectiveness of modern slavery initiatives in supply chains. Originality/value: This review provides an understanding of the current situation of global supply chains concerning the growing social issue of modern slavery. However, this includes various individual specialities relating to global supply chains, modern slavery, socially sustainable supply chain management (SCM), logistic social responsibility, corporate social responsibility and digitalisation. Furthermore, the review provided important implications for researchers examining the activities on benchmarking the effectiveness of the existing initiatives to prevent modern slavery in the supply chains

A systematic literature review of technological developments and challenges for inland waterways freight transport in intermodal supply chain management

Purpose Inland shipping has been extensively recognised as a sustainable, efficient and good alternative to rail and road modes of transportation. In recent years, various authorities and academic researchers have advocated shifting from road to other sustainable modes like inland waterway transport (IWT) or rail transport. Academic work on modernisation and technological innovations to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of waterborne transportation is becoming apparent as a growing body of literature caused by the need to achieve a sustainable transport system. Thus, it became apparent to explore the research trends on IWT. Design/methodology/approach A systematic and structured literature review study was employed in this paper to identify the challenges and concepts in modernising inland waterways for freight transportation. The review analysed 94 articles published in 54 journals from six well-known databases between 2010 and 2022.The key findings of this review are that despite various challenges confronting the sector, there have been successful cases of technological advancement in the industry. The main interest among scholars is improving technical and economic performance, digitalisation, and safety and environmental issues. The review revealed that most of the literature is fragmented despite growing interest from practitioners and academic scholars. Academic research to address the strategic objectives, including strengthening competitiveness (shipbuilding, hydrodynamics, incorporating artificial intelligence into the decision-making process, adopting blockchain technology to ensure transparency and security in the transactions, new technologies for fleets adaptation to climate change, more effective handling, maintenance and rehabilitation technologies), matching growth and changing trade patterns (intermodal solutions and new logistics approaches) are major causes of concerns. Originality/value By employing the approach of reviewing previously available literature on IWT review papers, this review complements the existing body of literature in the field of IWT by providing in a single paper a consolidation of recent state-of-the-art research on technological developments and challenges for inland waterways freight transport in the intermodal supply chain that can act as a single resource to keep researchers up to date with the most recent advancements in research in the domain of inland waterway freight transport. Additionally, this review identified gaps in the literature that may inspire new research themes in the field of IWT

A comprehensive analysis of diverse risk management strategies in healthcare supply chain

The purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive framework for healthcare supply chain risk management, in order to explore, evaluate and prioritize risk factors, as well as to validate the proposed model empirically. The proposed method combines a review of published articles, questionnaire surveys, and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to identify risk factors, as well as Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) to investigate the inter-relationships among the risks. The identified 34 risk factors that affect the management of hospital supply chains can be divided into three main categories. To mitigate these identified risks, various strategies have been studied through empirical research. The outcomes provide a guideline for hospital managers to anticipate and prepare for potential risks

Future Skills and Competence Needs

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Fostering innovation in the blue economy within the United Kingdom (UK): A stakeholders’ perspective

In a 2019 European Commission report, the Blue Economy (BE) within the United Kingdom (UK) represented 22% of the European Union's (EU) BE Gross Value Added (GVA) at approximately €39 billion. Coupled with the clear value of the BE to the UK, there is an urgent need to innovate and develop technologies to decarbonise and advance the sector. A deeper understanding of the current position for multiple stakeholders must be considered before any major governmental or long-term strategy decisions can be made. This paper presents the perspective of academic, industrial and governmental stakeholders analysis of how the UK can move forward with developing innovations within the BE. Utilising a questionnaire and round table discussions, specialists from all stakeholders gave their opinions on industry-academia-governmental working relationships and technology transfer readiness. Reasonably high satisfaction was found with key aspects that enable a successful collaborative project between academia and industry towards technology commercialisation; however, there is still room for improvement. This paper offers an analysis of how to further enhance and foster technology development within the UK BE. A collaborative approach is proposed to ensure best practices, and a ‘triple helix’ (TH) collaboration strategy to be used as a tool for those engaging in these types of working relationships. Future directions on enhancing technology transfer innovation within the UK BE are also suggested