Chapter objectives:

-          understanding the logistics technologies used for the city logistics,

-          understanding the characteristics of freight transport in urban areas,

-       knowledge of individual modes of transport of goods within the city.

Time required to study the chapter: 6 hours

Interpretation:

 

Logistics operation of the city

Basic concepts of logistics operation of cities and territories in the field of freight transport are basically two logistics technologies:

• • Hub and spoke
  • Gateway

 

Hub and Spoke - is based on the existence of a single logistics center from which the territory is operated by distribution roads (spokes). Consignments are collected by the carrier from the shipper’s premises and returned to the carrier’s depot for consolidation. At the carrier’s depot, consignments are sorted by location (typically by destination state or depot), loaded onto road freight vehicles (usually semi-trailers), and then, transported to the destination hub.

Sorting at the origin hub can be done manually, based on a visual identification of the delivery address on a parcel, or it can be an automated process whereby the parcel travels along a conveyor belt and be identified by a machine that reads a bar code printed on the parcel.

At the destination hub, consignments are deconsolidated, either manually or via the automated conveyor belt process. At the destination hub, however, consignments are sorted into “runs” or “routes. A “run or route” is typically a cluster of suburbs in the same geographical area or a single location that has a high volume of deliveries made to it on a daily basis.

Once the consignments are sorted into the “run or route” at the destination hub, they are loaded onto smaller delivery vehicles and delivered to the consignees in that particular area.

 

The technology operates with two transport circuits:

o  circuit of external transport - consolidated consignments for 1 or more recipients,

o  circuit of internal transport - distribution of deconsolidated consignments from the hub (logistics center) on the territory.

 

 

Fig. 3 Hub and Spoke logistics technology

 

External transport is ensured by high-capacity freight transport systems or their combinations (in multimodal transport systems).

Internal transport is constrained by the transport infrastructure condition. Mostly, it is ensured by road transport operated by trucks with their total weight 3.5 - 6 tons.

This technology is suitable for the area operation of medium-sized or small agglomerations – up to 1 million citizens.

 

Logistics technology Gateway is suitable for the logistics operation of large core cities (more than 1 million citizens).

At the entrances to a big city core, the "Gateways" are built – similar logistics objects as logistics centers for the hub and spoke technology. In these gateways, following activities are usually performed:

• • handling with consignment,
  • consolidation and deconsolidation, including packaging,
  • collection and distribution of consignments.

 

 

Fig. 4 Gateway logistics technology

 

Study materials:

Basic literature:

Voženílek, V., Strakoš, V. City Logistics: Dopravní problémy města a logistika. Olomouc: Publisher - Palacky University, 2009, pp. 108-116. ISBN 978-80-244-2317-3.

Recommended study literature:

TANIGUCHI, E. a R.G. THOMPSON. City Logistics: Mapping The Future.: CRC Press, 2014. 231 s. ISBN 978-1-4822-0889-4.

 

Questions and tasks

1.      Basic concepts of logistics operation of cities and territories in the field of freight transport are basically two logistics technologies. Which ones?

a)      GPS and Glonass

b)      Hub and spoke and Gateway

c)      IDS and P + R

2.      Technology Hub and Spoke is based on:

a)      creating a map for truck drivers helping navigate and orientate in the city

b)      software to support transport processes planning and management

c)      the existence of a single logistics center from which the territory is operated by distribution roads (spokes)

3.      Technology Hub and Spoke operates with two transport circuits:

a)      circuit of external transport and circuit of internal transport

b)      circuit of transit transport and circuit of external transport

c)      circuit of urban transport and circuit of suburban transport

4.      Logistics technology Gateway is suitable for the logistics operation of:

a)      rural areas

b)      large core cities

c)      medium-sized or small agglomerations

5.      Describe some of the activities which take place within the Gateways

 

Key to solve the questions: 

1)      a.

2)      c.

3)      a.

4)      b.

      5)    handling with consignment, consolidation and deconsolidation, including packaging, collection and distribution of consignments, etc.