A Methodology for Planning City Logistics Concepts Based on City-Dry Port Micro-Consolidation Centres

Milovan Kovač, Snežana Tadić, Mladen Krstić () and Miloš Veljović
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Milovan Kovač: Logistics Department, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Vojvode Stepe 305, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Snežana Tadić: Logistics Department, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Vojvode Stepe 305, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Mladen Krstić: Logistics Department, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Vojvode Stepe 305, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Miloš Veljović: Logistics Department, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Vojvode Stepe 305, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Mathematics, 2023, vol. 11, issue 15, 1-21

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to conceptualize a novel idea of potentially sustainable city logistics concepts—the development of urban consolidation centers (UCCs) on riverbanks and the establishment of city-dry port (DP) micro-consolidation centers (MCCs) as their displaced subsystems within the delivery zone. The concept enables the application of river transportation in delivering goods to the UCC, where the modal shift to electric delivery vehicles takes place for delivering goods to city-DP MCCs. In the final delivery phase (from city-DP MCCs to flow generators), smaller eco-vehicles are utilized. An innovative methodology for the planning and selection of the most sustainable concept variant is developed. The methodology combines mathematical programming and the axial-distance-based aggregated measurement (ADAM) multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method. The application of the defined approach is demonstrated in a case study inspired by Belgrade, Serbia. The theoretical contribution of this study is in demonstrating how a wide set of potentially viable city logistics concepts can be defined, starting from an initial idea (city-DP MCC). The practical contribution lies in developing a robust methodology that considers all relevant tactical and operational-level planning questions and takes into account qualitative and quantitative criteria in evaluating different concept variants.

Keywords: city logistics; concept; dry port; urban consolidation center; micro-consolidation; river transportation; sustainability; ADAM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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