Defining Urban Freight Microhubs: A Case Study Analysis

Urban freight distribution has confronted several challenges, including negative environmental, social, and economic impacts. Many city logistics initiatives that use the concept of Urban Consolidation Centers (UCCs) have failed. The failure of many UCCs does not mean that the idea of additional terminals or microhubs should be rejected. There is limited knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of using microhubs, requiring further exploration of this concept. To expand this knowledge, this research combines 17 empirical cases from Europe and North America to develop a framework for classifying different microhubs typologies. This research presents an integrated view of the cases and develops a common language for understanding microhub typologies and definitions. The research proposes microhubs as an important opportunity to improve urban freight sustainability and efficiency and one possible step to manage the challenge of multi-sector collaboration.

GAP ANTARA KEBUTUHAN OPERATOR PENGIRIMAN BARANG DAN STRATEGI ADMINISTRATOR KOTA TERHADAP UPAYA OPTIMASI LAST MILE DELIVERY

Last mile delivery is the logistics transportation segment that has the most negative impacts and more likely to occur in urban areas. This negative impact will be felt by the urban citizens whose quality of life is guaranteed by the city administrator. On the other hand, logistics operators have limitations in changing their operating systems. The purpose of this study is to identify the gaps in the views of each stakeholder in realizing a solution to logistical problems, namely the Urban Consolidation Center, B20 Fuel, Limited Traffic Zone, and Fleet Renewal. Survey methods through questionnaires and interviews with logistics operators and city or govern-ment administrators were carried out to get each party's views on problems. This study shows that, although both parties still lack knowledge of solutions to logistical problems, it is possible to implement these solutions. Keywords: gap; last mile delivery; logistics transportation; logistics operator; urban area. Abstrak Last mile delivery merupakan segmen transportasi logistik yang paling banyak menuai dampak negatif serta mayoritas terjadi di kawasan urban. Dampak negatif tersebut akan dirasakan oleh masyarakat luas yang kualitas hidupnya menjadi tanggungan administrator kota. Di sisi lain, operator logistik memiliki keterbatasan dalam mengubah sistem operasinya. Tujuan penelitian ini ialah mengidentifikasi gap pandangan masing-masing pe-mangku kepentingan dalam mewujudkan suatu solusi terhadap permasalahan logistik, yaitu Urban Consolida-tion Center, Bahan bakar B20, Limited Traffic Zone, serta Pembaruan Armada. Metode survei melalui kuisioner dan wawancara kepada operator logistik dan administrator kota atau pemerintah dilakukan untuk mendapatkan pandangan masing-masing pihak terhadap masalah-masalah. Studi ini menunjukkan bahwa, walaupun kedua belah pihak masih memiliki pengetahuan yang kurang akan solusi permasalahan logistik, solusi tersebut mungkin untuk diimplementasikan. Kata-kata kunci: gap; last mile delivery; transportasi logistik; operator logistik; kawasan urban.

A game-theoretic multi-stakeholder model for cost allocation in urban consolidation centres

Recently, many European local authorities have set up Urban Consolidation Centres (UCC) for dealing with challenges arising from the environmental and social impacts of logistical activities in urban contexts through shipment synchronisation and carrier coordination policies. However, the number of successful UCC projects led by local authorities in Europe is low, with most of the UCCs failing to achieve financial sustainability after the initial experimental phase, which is often heavily supported by public funds. In order to propose mechanisms that could favour the economic and financial sustainability of UCC systems, this research develops an adaptation of game-theoretic approaches to the problems of responsibility and cost allocation among stakeholders participating in a UCC delivery network. A solution based on the Shapley Value concept is employed to derive cost allocations; applications of the model to a real-world scenario are evaluated. An extensive sensitivity analysis shows that the proposed cost allocation rules can provide alternative arrangements, based on extended responsibility concepts, which can alleviate the burden on local authorities for the set up of UCCs. As such, results provide useful policy and practice implications on how to safeguard UCCs’ viability under different scenarios, including the outsourcing of the last-mile deliveries.