Adoption assessment by carriers and retailers to use an urban consolidation center - A case study in Brazil

Growing concern over environmental issues has prompted public and private institutions to seek ways to mitigate the impacts of their operations. The urban distribution of goods is an important subject to study because the increase in vehicle traffic in big cities from suboptimal logistics systems aggravates greenhouse gas emissions. An urban distribution center (UDC) is an important alternative to improve logistics process in cities and decrease the negative effects of freight transport. Demand analysis is a fundamental part of the process of choosing where to set up an UDC. This paper presents a model for retailers and carriers to assess the adoption of an UDC, through the stated preference technique and elements from adoption theory. Additionally, this article presents the results of the view of public institutions about city logistics initiatives and urban distribution center benefits. This methodology was applied in Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais) and Fortaleza (Ceara). The results shed light on initiatives to establish urban distribution centers in these cities, emphasizing that although UDCs offer important benefits, not all actors are ready to implement them. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the 7th International Conference on City Logistics