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Research project

Freight Traffic Control 2050: transforming the energy demands of last-mile urban freight through collaborative logistics

Project overview

Working with major parcel carriers in London, this project examined the potential for closer operational collaboration to reduce urban traffic, energy demand and vehicle emissions.  

Initiatives included:

  • carriers dropping off parcels to porters or cycle couriers for the final delivery;
  • an operating model in which one carrier delivers parcels in a given area on behalf of others;
  • green delivery strategies where better coordination of deliveries is planned.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Tom Cherrett

Prof of Logistics and Transport Mgnment
Research interests
  • Understanding and improving the distribution of goods and the management of freight vehicles in urban areas, including the supply of goods to hospitals and the use of consolidation centres; 
  • How optimisation techniques can be used to improve system efficiency and in what ways Intelligent Transport Systems (smart tagging of assets and the use of smartphones) can improve operating efficiency; 
  • Approaches to more effectively collect and manage the movement of waste in terms of both household domestic waste collection strategies, Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) management and joint domestic/commercial waste collection strategies. He has worked on a number of research projects in these specific areas: (Department for Transport grant PPAD 9/142/034, ‘Optimising vehicles undertaking waste collections' GR/S79626/01, SUE project 55 ‘Transport and Logistics'; EP/D043328/1, ‘Green Logistics'.
Connect with Tom

Email: T.J.Cherrett@soton.ac.uk

Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs

Julian Allen, Maja Piecyk, Thomas Cherrett, Muhammad Nabil Juhari, Fraser Mcleod, Marzena Piotrowska, Oliver Bates, Tolga Bektas, Kostas Cheliotis, Adrian Friday & Sarah Wise, 2021, Cities, 108
DOI:
Type: article
Antonio Martinez Sykora, Fraser Mcleod, Carlos Lamas Fernandez, Tolga Bektas, Thomas Cherrett & Julian Allen, 2020, Annals of Operations Research, 295(2), 645-693
DOI:
Type: article
Fraser Mcleod, Thomas Cherrett, Oliver Bates, Tolga Bektas, Carlos Lamas Fernandez, Julian Allen, Marzena Piotrowska, Maja Piecyk & Andy Oakey, 2020, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2674(8), 384-393
DOI:
Type: article
Thuba Nguyen, Tolga Bektas, Thomas Cherrett, Fraser Mcleod, Julian Allen, Oliver Bates, Marzena Piotrowska, Maja Piecyk, Adrian Friday & Sarah Wise, 2018, Journal of the Operational Research Society, 1-13
DOI:
Type: article
Sarah Wise, Kostas Cheliotis, Oliver Bates, Adrian Friday, Julian Allen, Fraser McLeod & Tom Cherrett, 2018
DOI:
Type: conference