Energy and Urban Development – Challenges for Smart Logistic in the SME Sector

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to submit articles for the Special Issue of Energies on “Energy and Urban Development—Challenges for Smart Logistics in the SME Sector”.

The interdisciplinary nature of logistics locates this specialization in various areas of the economy and modern science, including the issues of energy supply and urban development. The leading currents for logistics, energy distribution and the development of cities and regions are technical and economic sciences, information technologies, transport and communication, this multiplicity showing the strength of the field, inspiring the use of modern solutions.

Efficient logistics management is, undoubtedly, the source of success for many companies and cities, and the presently biggest challenge for this success is an uninterrupted supply of cheap energy. Within an enterprise, the logistics system is referred to as a comprehensive set of tasks aiming to improve the functioning of individual links in the supply chain and the entire logistics system. The internal logistics system of each production, commercial or service company connects with external logistics systems of suppliers, creating a coherent organizational structure. The development of the transport, forwarding, logistics and energy supply industries forces the adaptation of new strategic behaviors due to the significant increase in the presence of new technologies, the digitization of the supply chain, globalization and process automation. The condition of this segment is closely dependent on the situation in the trade and industry, as well as fluctuations in the general economy. Logistics, energy management and development are also a challenge for logistically efficient cities to attract investors and become competitive.

The purpose of logistics systems is to provide the best and most effective transport conditions for both people and products. When developing transport planning strategies, it becomes a major challenge to consider the correlation and interactions between transport, the economy, energy sources, land utilization, the environment and noise and pollution levels. In particular, the urban pollution problem resulting from the use of conventional energy sources has been raised in public debate. The indication of present times is the recognition of the importance of ecologistics, which concerns the implementation of tasks in the field of logistics in accordance with the principles of environmental protection and the use of alternative energy sources. The alarming level of atmospheric air pollution and the acoustic nuisance of urban areas have a negative impact on economic entities operating in a given urban structure. Therefore, a tremendous challenge today is the activities undertaken to create an integrated communication policy in cities, the so-called smart logistics, saving energy resources.

The logistics services market is changing dynamically, with ongoing quantitative and qualitative processes forcing most small and medium-sized logistics companies to determine strategic decisions related to the scope and manner of providing services and adapting to environmental requirements. Modern trends in logistics, primarily globalization, information technology, the use of green energy or focusing on the essence of the company's competences, impel enterprises to adapt to constant changes and new trends, which, in turn, increase the organizational efficiency and economic efficiency of these enterprises.

Therefore, this Special Issue of Energies will focus on innovations in the field of logistics systems, the distribution and use of alternative energy sources, innovations in the field of transport and tourism management, electromobility in the warehouse, the concept of ecological warehouses and the creation of smart zero-emission cities. Sustainable development based on smart logistics in SMEs, taking into account low-emission and energy-saving technologies, will cause cities to encourage favorable socio-economic and environmental changes.

We are convinced that this Special Issue will inspire the authors to submit original research papers related to the functioning of energy-smart logistics systems, setting the directions for the development of SME activities.

Prof. Dr. Danuta Zawadzka
Dr. Anna Szczepańska-Przekota
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.