Goods Distribution
Co-transportation of goods can be the solution for a lot of transport issues. Two Trendsetter cities prove that it is possible to radically reduce transport by using logistic centres for deliveries to stores, restaurants and construction sites.
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The number of goods transportation vehicles increases in many European cities. The delivery vehicles clog the shopping areas in big cities and are often only partly loaded. But half empty trucks and small delivery vans from different suppliers could reload their goods and co-transport it to the customers. This has been done at three logistics centres in Stockholm and Graz. The result is better load rates and more efficient distribution, which means fewer vehicles in the area and thereby better living and working conditions.
Construction materialsOne logistics centre was built at the entrance of one of the largest constructions sites in Stockholm where 8,000 apartments are being built. Since people started to move into their new apartments during the construction period, the goods transportation on the site had to be reduced. Therefore, all goods were unloaded at the logistics centre and delivered more efficiently or stored for later just in time delivery.
The project has cut down the number of delivery vehicles remarkably. Both emissions and congestion have decreased a lot compared to a situation without a logistics centre. The carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 90 percent.
The logistics centre also offered storage, which the customers valued highly and are willing to pay for. The storage protects goods from getting stolen of damaged by rain.
There has been a huge interest for the project, and it has been presented in at least 50 seminars.
Retail goodsIn Graz, a logistics centre was established to avoid chaos when a five-level garage was being built beneath the city’s largest shopping centre. Deliveries to the shopping centre were coordinated and then co-transported by low emission vehicles from an external warehouse at the southern city border.
The number of vehicle kilometres was reduced by 56 percent, which also has more than halved the emissions and energy use. The project has not needed as many vehicles and storage facilities as first presumed. This means extra cost savings and environmental savings, which further point towards the big potential for the system. Graz will now extend the project to the hospital area.
Restaurant suppliesSmall and very narrow streets in the Old Medieval Town of Stockholm make distribution traffic chaotic and cause environmental problems. A logistic centre was set up nearby the Old Town, where restaurant supplies are reloaded and co-transported with small biogas-fuelled vehicles.
As a result, the average number of deliveries to each restaurant is down from six to only one delivery per day. There is a big potential to reduce the total number of vehicle kilometres further if more restaurants join the project.
In general, logistics centres tend to be profitable when a critical mass of users/customers is reached. However, laws and regulations can cause problems and delays when logistics centres are established and put into operation. Anti-trust regulations might be one obstacle; another is special delivery circumstances and permits for food deliveries.
A main conclusion from all three projects is that a logistics centre is more efficient and successful when the area is well defined and has evident clogging problems, like the narrow streets of European old cities.
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Thematic co-ordination - Goods Distribution:
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