Evaluation of Urban Consolidation Centers from the Customer’s Perspective

Abstract – An Urban Consolidation Center (UCC) is a logistics solution aimed at reducing negative environmental and traffic effects of freight transportation in cities. This is mainly achieved by the consolidation of loads across customers. Despite having potential benefits, UCCs have not been widely implemented in practice. To realize the theoretical potential of UCCs in practice, a UCC has to attract customers. Crucial for the success of a UCC is a good fit between its services and the requirements of its market. Therefore, this paper addresses how UCCs can be evaluated from the perspective of its direct customers, i.e., freight forwarders and carriers. The Value Proposition Canvas, an established tool for business modeling, is adopted as a framework. The presented framework can be applied in a practical setting and provides the basis for an estimation of a UCC’s actual benefits. Keywords – Urban Consolidation Center, Value Proposition Canvas, city logistics, urban freight transport