Locating a Freight Consolidation Centre in Portsmouth

This research presents a scientific approach for selecting a suitable location for a Freight Consolidation Centre (FCC) in the city of Portsmouth, UK. A detailed review was carried out of a number of different types of FCC across the UK including their size, terms of use, operator and initial funding stream. After a discussion of the methodologies used, a review of the unique characteristics of the city of Portsmouth and its current and future developments was outlined with a number of potential FCC sites identified. A questionnaire was developed and conducted amongst experts in industry in order to identify the important criteria. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was then used to quantify these criteria based on the responses received. Expert Choice decision making software was then used for the implementation of the Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methodology of AHP to provide a score for each of the potential locations. The research initially identified the most important criterion for the selection of the best site for a FCC and its implementation in Portsmouth. This has been achieved by aggregating questionnaire responses. Moreover, the most suitable location in Portsmouth was selected amongst a number of potential sites with respect to the defined criteria. A novel approach of AHP was utilized in order to find the most suitable site by aggregating responses. Recommendations based on the outcomes of the study were made, having critically examined, compared and contrasted them with the literature. Finally, the location that has been proposed in Portsmouth could be examined more as a good location for such an FCC, while the other locations can provide alternatives options.