Locating urban freight micro-consolidation centres: a practical methodology

Micro-consolidation centres (MCCs) can offer sustainable freight logistics solutions in urban areas. This paper presents a novel methodology for Local Government Authorities (LGAs) to promote the future development and use of MCCs by freight logistics companies through identifying suitable sites for such facilities in urban areas within their districts. The methodology is practical for LGAs to use within the constraints of limited financial and human resources, and is based on a distillation of previous research, showing how a simple, structured methodology can work with imperfect real-world data. The methodology was trialled in practice in Portsmouth, UK, where two preferred MCC sites were successfully identified for progressing to real-world trials. The methodology was designed to be transferrable, and the case study application to Portsmouth identified insights into the challenges affecting its utility in other urban areas, such as maintaining equity between stakeholders and engaging personnel whose time resources are scarce.