An ICT platform for urban freight distribution management

Freight distribution systems are challenged by the globalisation of supply chains, demand for high-quality service and continuously increasing fuel costs and environmental standards, all of which contribute to increasing competition in the last mile of the distribution chain, which is populated by many small transport operators with small margins. One way an operator can improve its operating efficiency and quality is through continuous monitoring of its operations with key performance indicators (KPIs). Information and communication technology (ICT) can solve the monitoring problem cheaply, efficiently and effectively via the internet. The University of Rome Centre for Transport and Logistics (CTL) has implemented a prototype ICT platform to conduct a pilot study on the daily distribution service in Rome of a transport operator with a small fleet. The pilot has highlighted the reduced cost of the investment and the ease of collecting relevant data and using them to measure performance, but also the remaining barriers to the practical use of ICT.