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Effects of collaborative systems on urban goods distribution
Sandra Melo
CITTA - Centro de Investigação do Território, Transportes e Ambiente
Departamento de Engenharia Civil
Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n 4200 – 465 Porto, Portugal
Álvaro Costa
CITTA - Centro de Investigação do Território, Transportes e Ambiente
Departamento de Engenharia Civil
Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n 4200 – 465 Porto, Portugal
Abstract
In Porto (Portugal), the existence of a pattern of store location based on the geographical domain of the respective branch activity seems to favor the implementation of collaborative systems in goods distribution. Authors aim to investigate if the delivery of goods based on collaboration between receivers (shopkeepers) can be a plausible and more sustainable strategy to improve urban environment. The evaluation of the solution was made through the use of microscopic traffic simulation (AIMSUN). Results showed that collaborative systems can lead to lower impacts on traffic and environment.
Keywords: urban goods distribution, collaborative systems, citylogistics
1. Introduction
Cities have high densities and heterogeneous commercial activities and functionalities, which require urban centres to be intensively supplied by goods flows. The entrance of these flows is essential to supply cities and its users, to maintain the existing life style, to retain industrial and trading activities and to promote the competitiveness of industry in the concerned region (Anderson et al, 2005). However, despite its importance to supply cities, the transport and delivery of goods within urban and metropolitan areas can also impacts the local community in what concerns to the economic development, quality of life, accessibility and attractiveness of cities (Egger and Ruesch, 2002). Just giving some common examples, goods distribution vehicles can cause air pollution and noise, reduce local traffic safety, and physically obstruct passenger’s traffic. Once the delivery of goods affects the quality of life in urban areas, it is needed to seek for more sustainable practices to deliver goods.
In the last years several initiatives have been proposed to achieve sustainable targets and some have even been pointed out as ‘good practices’, according with its theoretical or practical results at economic, environmental or social levels (sustainability dimensions).
On this paper the authors intend to investigate if the delivery of goods based on collaboration between shopkeepers can be a plausible and more sustainable strategy to decrease traffic congestion and improve the environment. To reach this objective, it will be made a brief presentation of the concept of collaborative systems in urban goods distribution and a description of a case study carried out in Porto (Portugal). The estimation of the effects will be made with the use of microscopic traffic simulation. The results of the simulation will then allow the authors to analyze if this initiative can be considered a more sustainable practice to supply the study area.
2. The concept of Collaborative Systems
Collaborative systems on urban goods distribution are systems in which receivers (shopkeepers) cooperate and organize their own goods distribution, with the aim of ensuring a fast and effective delivery. These systems can be promoted by shops belonging to the same business segment and by shops that sell products with similar physical and marketing characteristics, located within close proximity of each others (Figure 1).
Collaborative systems can be implemented within a certain area, where similar types of goods with similar packaging are delivered, through a specific distribution channel. The implementation of collaborative systems involves setting up partnerships between the receivers, since the final step of urban distribution is the delivery process. Through the implementation of partnerships between receivers, it is possible to establish local or regional cooperatives, which receive all the orders from their associates and ensure their fast and effective supply. Cooperatives are responsible for the transport and distribution of products and sometimes also for the negotiation with suppliers. The cooperative ensures the distribution of certain products to the respective area and, thus, its operation is similar to a local or regional depot serving all destinations in a specific area. The main difference is that each cooperative manages physical and informational flows of its own business segment located on the respective local or regional area. By guarantying the maximization of load factors of its vehicles, the cooperative generates a smaller number of trips to urban areas and thus causes fewer impacts than a traditional distribution where all suppliers go to the city whenever they are called (Melo, 2003). The existence of a cooperative is not a restriction to receivers as regards the ordering process, since they can also buy secondary products (which do not represent the core business of the shop) directly from suppliers. Apart from this flexibility and all the referred advantages of a cooperative, collaborative systems are expected to partly reduce the impacts created by goods deliveries in urban areas.
Besides the description of collaborative systems as a distribution initiative, it is also relevant to define the intrinsic characteristics of the services, just as customer contact, customization and nature of the relationship with receivers. Services provided by suppliers under collaborative systems are characterized by a low contact service and thus have a higher level of production efficiency (Chase, 1978). Once the physical presence of the supplier increases the variation in the service delivery process (Verma, 2001), collaborative systems having a low contacts service, also have a higher level of production efficiency. These systems imply a high degree of customization, guarantying that each receiver (shopkeeper) gets a similar service adapted to his specific needs. Thus, each receiver is known to the organization and all transactions are individually recorded and attributed. With a formal relationship, it is easier to predict the receivers’ demands in terms of transport and supply services and consequently, to improve the receivers’ satisfaction and increase the quality of service.
3. Existing Examples and Study objective
Collaborative systems can, under specific conditions of implementation, be successful in reducing the impacts of urban goods distribution on traffic congestion and environment. A successful implementation of collaborative systems requires as base conditions: a) a joint effort from public and private stakeholders, b) the existence of specific local characteristics like the location of stores with similar products within the same area and c) the existence of a depot to manage the flows of the respective cooperative. These requirements are not easy to be achieved (particularly without expensive costs) and this can be one of the main reasons why collaborative systems do not have a wider implementation.
In Porto, these requirements seem to be fulfilled and a practical experiment is now being carried out by the ‘Associação dos Comerciantes do Porto’ (ACP). ACP is an association that represents the interests of its associates and provides them some important support to its functioning. In 2005, the ACP had 3500 associated commercial establishments grouped in 12 activity branches located in the city. This organization is promoting a practical experiment, enabling the necessary vehicles to make deliveries and promoting an agreement with some hotels located in the inner centre to organize their distribution system. Under the coordination of ACP, 12 hotels established an agreement with the main traditional street market (Mercado do Bolhão) to daily receive fresh products (bread, dairy products, vegetables and fruits). The experiment is still ongoing and for now it has a positive feedback from the involved partners.
The second example is from Sweden. In Upsala, the 4th biggest city in Sweden, during a trial experiment 97 transport companies delivered goods to a shopping area under a collaborative system. About 43% of the delivered goods were also food and about 69% were delivered before 11 a.m. The trial demonstration was carried out for a period of one year (until May 2001) and resulted in a reduction by 40% of the number of deliveries and in general the retailers were satisfied (Gebresenbet and Ljungberg, 2002).
The third example of the implementation of collaborative systems, which is worth it to be mentioned has a larger geographical scope and is also Portuguese. Portuguese pharmacies collaborate and organize their own goods distribution systems cooperating through regional cooperatives. The respective regional cooperative assures the delivery of any medicine in a maximum of 4 hours, after the order have been made by the pharmacy. Once the system is strongly supported by the use of information systems, there’s a low contact service and thus, the delivery operation is very effective.
The present paper aims to be an additional contribution to analyze the effects of collaborative systems on traffic congestion and environment applied to a case study in Porto (Portugal).
4. Case Study
4.1 Background of the Study
Being the largest city in the North of Portugal, Porto is a regional economic centre with 263,000 inhabitants. It has a strong regional function for more than one and a half million people and it is the economic centre of Porto Metropolitan Area (PMA). The economic importance of Porto contributes to a large number of daily movements from other municipalities into the city centre.
(Figure 2).
The interaction of goods traffic with passengers’ traffic affects the urban mobility in Porto, which itself has already some intrinsic constraints to receive freight vehicles. Porto is an ancient city with a very distinct historical centre, where the streets are narrow and the distance between intersections is short, making it difficult to accommodate delivery operations. The existence of buildings of high architectural quality prevents changes in street layouts in the historical centre.
At the suppliers’ level, there are no local or regional freight platforms and high land values restrain goods storage in the inner city. Furthermore, Porto and its neighbouring municipalities fail to provide, within the scope of urban planning, enough or adequate areas to accommodate supply operations (Melo, 2003).
The congestion related to urban goods distribution problems in Porto is caused not only by the physical characteristics of the streets network and by poor law enforcement, but also by the poor organization of the urban goods distribution system. There are some delivery systems which are organized in an ineffective and unskilled way. In these business segments, shopkeepers still prefer to have a high service contact with the supplier during the ordering and payment operations, which is a significant time consuming activity.
4.2 Outline of the study
The case study presented on this paper relies on data collected in two commercial areas located in Porto’s inner city: Cedofeita Street and Camões Street. Both streets have high densities of commercial activities within a small diversity of commercial branches.
In the first area, Cedofeita Street, a pedestrian stretch with 110 meters long was analysed. This stretch is permanently closed to all types of road traffic, with exception to freight vehicles, which are allowed to use the street in order to make deliveries between 9:00 p.m. and 11.00 a.m. The daily observations of the study were made during a period in which the freight vehicle access was allowed. Data was collected everyday between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. for a period of one month. This was the peak period of deliveries of the day to the area.
On the second area, Camões Street, it was analysed a stretch with an extension of 170 meters. The street has a bus lane, two lanes for road traffic and longitudinal parking facilities. Camões Street doesn’t have access restrictions based on time and suppliers are allowed to deliver goods whenever they want it, as long as they use the specific reserved parking places. Daily data was collected between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m., for a period of one month.
In order to qualitatively measure and evaluate the impacts of urban goods distribution on these streets, a survey was carried out (Table 1).
4.3 Results of the survey
The data collected was mainly used as an input to the Advanced Interactive Microscopic Simulator for Urban and Non-Urban Networks (AIMSUN) program. In the case study described here, the inputs used for simulation and obtained through the survey included the following indicators: parking time, frequency of deliveries according to each branch of activity, type of vehicle (truck, lorries, vans, car), traffic freight flows, use of capacity (full, 50%, less than 50%) and the share of cars and vans used in the freight traffic. The ‘parking time/delivery’ measures the time taken to make the delivery. It can be an indirect measure of the impact of each delivery operation on the utilization of the road space, once most of suppliers park in double lane. The ‘frequency of deliveries’ is useful to characterize the supply needs of each shop and of the respective business segment. The ‘type of freight vehicles’ used and the ‘parking solutions’ adopted in the delivery allow us to obtain a better knowledge of the urban distribution conditions and facilities in both streets.
On the pedestrian area, there’s a dominance of retail stores, shoes stores, restaurants and cafes. The last ones have the larger average parking time and are responsible for the largest number of goods deliveries trips. These establishments still require a high service contact between shopkeepers and suppliers for the completion of the delivery and payment of goods. Shopkeepers still make their orders personally or by telephone and do not use information systems, which could reduce the supplier’s parking times (Table 2).
The same seems to happen in the other studied area. There, most of the stores were retail stores related to spare parts. A pharmacy and a bookstore were also located in the area. Retail stores have larger parking times, require a larger number of deliveries and have a higher customer contact between shopkeepers and suppliers. The lower parking times were registered by the bookstore and the pharmacy. The main reason for the difference between the retail stores, the pharmacy and the bookstore seem to be the fact that the ordering process already includes the information needed for the payment and emission of bills and their distribution is organized under a cooperative structure, which contributes to reduce delivery times and, consequently, to decrease parking times.
The data collected on the survey, from which we particularly pointed out the parking times, seem to indicate that different commercial activities cause different impacts on circulation. It also indicates that stores belonging to the same commercial branches have similar parking times, which might be due to similar delivery procedures. Thus, once the collected data by itself does not quantify the impacts f delivery operations on pedestrian movements and on road traffic, authors will use micro simulation tools to achieve those values, and to evaluate the effects of collaborative systems.