Evaluating the Effects of Logistics Center Location: An Analytical Framework for Sustainable Urban Logistics

Yanxia Wang (), Yisong Li and Changxiang Lu
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Yanxia Wang: School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Yisong Li: School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Changxiang Lu: Institute of Public Health & Emergency Management, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-22

Abstract: Sustainable urban logistics require support of sustainable logistics center location planning. Nevertheless, urban public authorities generally experience difficulties in choosing a successful planning scheme, due to the lack of a rigorous analytical tool designed to help understand how logistics center location affects sustainability throughout the supply chain. A poor location can keep a firm or a supply chain from reaching its economic, environmental, and social sustainability goals. A good location can help meet these goals. To address the pressing cause of policy failure, this paper developed an analytical framework by integrating the multi-criteria decision-making method and the shortest path model with multiple objectives. The developed framework can be used to evaluate the effects of logistics center location schemes on travel time, transport costs, carbon emission, and road traffic, and further explore the conflict level among them. It is applied to Beijing in this paper. The analysis results reveal that: (1) travel time, transport costs, and carbon emissions all vary along with the distance from logistics center location to the city center; (2) encouraging cargo companies to plan their truck paths with the navigation objective of minimizing travel time is an excellent way to achieve sustainable urban logistics, because in this scenario, freight transport is the quickest, and transport costs and carbon emissions are all more moderate. Additionally, this paper confirmed the conflict level among sustainability goals of urban logistics based on actual contextual data. The proposed framework is a helpful guide tool for urban planners to develop sustainable logistics land-use planning and responsive policy interventions.

Keywords: location effects; sustainable logistics; multi-objective path; comparative analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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