Sustainability and efficiency of city logistics- CITYLOG

The CITYLOG project aims at increasing the sustainability and the efficiency of urban delivery of goods through an adaptive and integrated mission management and innovative vehicle solutions.

Three action domains have been identified to improve today’s city logistics system:

• Logistic-oriented telematic services are expected to give a decisive contribution to improve mission planning processes through optimised routing and drivers’ support systems. Towards the final customers, tracking and communication capabilities should be deployed to reduce the number of unsuccessful deliveries.

• Vehicle technologies will represent a key factor to increase the operational flexibility of lorries and vans. It means that the vehicles shall be requested to support different mission profiles, and this will allow reducing their number. In other words, what should be achieved is the interoperability among the vehicles, especially in terms of load unit handling.

• Innovative load units shall be carefully designed to operate, like the vehicles, in different missions. Therefore, a re-configurable internal layout will enable different uses either as simple container or mobile pack station (BentoBox concept). In the latter case, the goal is the de-synchronization of the delivery process between operators and final customers in order to reduce unsuccessful deliveries.

The innovative approach of CITYLOG will lead to decrease the number and optimise the use of delivery trucks in urban areas, while bringing an increased quality of services.

Duration and Funding

January 2010 – December 2012.

Funding through the EC Directorate General Research, 7th Framework Programme.

Consortium

Coordinator: FIAT Research Centre (CRF) Partners: IVECO S.p.A., Volvo Technology Corporation AB, NAVTEQ, Netherland’s Organization for Applied Scientific Research, PTV Planung Transport Verkehr AG, Mizar Automazione S.p.A, Fraunhofer Institut für Produktionsanlagen und Konstruktionstechnik, Europlatforms Geie, Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung Berlin, Communauté Urbaine de Lyon, Regione Piemonte, ERTICO – ITS Europe, SCRL , CombiBox System, Interface Transport, RE:LAB S.r.l., LogisticNetwork Consultants GmbH, TNT Global Express S.p.A.