Information Systems and Technology of City Logistics and Urban Freight

Dear Colleagues,

City logistics is an area to meet the demand of end-customers’ social and economic activities in relatively densely populated urban areas by providing the primary functions of logistics, including supplying materials, producing and manufacturing products, storing and distributing, and transporting and shipping, along with the secondary functions of managing flows of information, finance, and energy. Many stakeholders are interested in reducing traffic congestion, accidents, and environmental impact in the freight movement in urban areas, while maintaining efficient and cost-effective strategic and operational logistics management.

Along with continuous urbanization, shifts in traffic patterns, globalization, as well as COVID-19, city logistics, and urban freight movement have recently diversified the direction of the changes, and these changes are speeding up. Some of the impactful changes in the logistics industry are related to compliance with issues of labor, environment, and security; logistics facilities being relocated from urban to suburbs or rural areas due to increasing competition for limited space; the increasing needs of quality of urban life and the pattern of new consumption; and rapid changes in emerging disruptive technologies.

Therefore, by introducing innovative processes and technologies, not traditional approaches and technologies, the industry wants to maintain a positive social function while increasing business efficiency and meeting customer needs. Innovative improvements can be made by collecting, storing, distributing, analyzing, and visualizing the data. Then, the data can be transformed into information for better decisions.

This process integrates information technology and systems based on business processes, which can share information and knowledge among stakeholders and for problem solving. Investigation of information technology and systems in city logistics and urban freight movement includes but is not limited to the following areas:

• Sourcing, procurement, and supplier management: supplier relationship management (SRM);
• Production and manufacturing: manufacturing resource planning (MRP II);
• Handling materials, storage, sorting, and distribution: warehouse management systems;
• Transporting and shipping: transportation management systems, trucking guidance systems, autonomous vehicles;
• Customer service and delivery: customer management systems;
• Waste management systems, mobile automated guided vehicles, logistics robots;
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP);
• Asset management solutions;
• Fintech: blockchain technology;
• Smart sensing technology: RFID, IoT;
• Mobile technology;
• Cloud systems and web technology;
• Geographic information systems (GIS);
• Business process reengineering (BPR);
• Cyber security. 

City logistics and urban freight are viewed by private and public sectors. Private sectors include freight owners, transporters, distributors, and consumers for materials, goods, and recyclables. Public sectors include policy makers, regulators, local governments, non-profit organizations for humanitarian logistics, waste management, water and energy logistics, and service logistics.

This Special Issue aims to contribute to the existing literature by extending contributors’ knowledge and adding best practices from the private and public sectors, including but not limited to the following topics in city logistics and urban freight:

• Disruptive and innovative information technologies;
• Application of information technologies and information systems as well as business process reengineering;
• Education and training information technologies and information systems;
• Practices of designing, implementing, and maintaining information technologies and information systems;
• Policy and regulation on information technology and information;
• Innovative process and business models;
• Case studies.

From 15 April 2021 to 31 December 2021, all submissions (once accepted after peer review) to Logistics will be published free of charge. To take advantage of this opportunity, please submit before the deadline.

Dr. EunSu Lee
Dr. Yongjang Kwon
Dr. Melanie McDonald
Dr. Yong Shin Park
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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