Alassane Ballé Ndiaye

Inland waterways transport for city logistics: A review of experiences and the role of local public authorities

Urban freight transport is increasingly difficult to organize and manage: the demographic expansion of cities, the environmental issues, new logistical trends, scarcity of space and the evolving consumer habits are just some of the challenges. In most cities, road transportation is essentially the only mode used for performing urban distribution of goods. Inland navigation is used solely for transport of bulk materials over long distances bulk material (e.g. construction material and agricultural products). However, experiences in several European cities have demonstrated that the use of inland waterways can be a viable alternative for smaller-scale freight transport in urban areas. This present article aims at reviewing current experiences in the field of inland navigation for city logistics. Through the analysis of several implementation cases in Europe, the authors demonstrate that inland navigation can be used for various segments of the urban freight transport, including transportation of palletized goods (e.g. construction and industrial material), transportation of containerized goods (e.g. for the supply of the supermarkets), deliveries to local shops and restaurants, deliveries of parcels, transport of waste and recycled material and service trips. Furthermore, the article analyses the conditions in which these transport schemes were developed, highlights their key success factors, and investigates the particular role of local public authorities in organizing and managing these innovative transport schemes.

Development of a Conceptual Framework for Performance Measurement of Pharmaceutical Supply Chain within Hospital

In recent years, the European hospital sector suffers the brunt of the economic crisis. This sector is now faced with a paradox, which is to reduce costs, related to the decline in government subsidies and an increase in the quality of care required by the regulatory bodies. This paradox can be resolved through the optimization of the hospital supply chain. Despite hospital supply chains having a great impact on hospital budgets, still opportunities for optimization exist and improve the health care quality. This article aims to propose a conceptual framework that allows hospitals to evaluate the performance of their pharmaceutical supply chains in order to identify bottlenecks and cost reduction opportunities. After reviewing the literature regarding to the hospital supply chain and the performance measurement, the authors focused on the study of hospital processes of pharmaceutical distribution within the hospital. The findings of this study propose a conceptual framework that will allow hospital to measure the performance of their pharmaceutical supply chain. Development of a Conceptual Framework for Performance Measurement of Pharmaceutical Supply Chain within Hospital

Short Supply Chains as a Viable Alternative for the Distribution of Food in Urban Areas? Investigation of the Performance of Several Distribution Schemes

In recent years, alternative forms of consumption in conventional food systems have emerged across the world. Specifically, the concept of short food supply chains advocates consumption of local products and distribution with maximum one (or ideally none) intermediary between the producer and the consumer. The objective of these consumption patterns is to reduce the externalities caused by conventional consumption modes, bring closer consumers and producers, and allow small-scale farmers to diversify their production, capturing greater value added, and ensuring more stable incomes. A large variety of typology of short supply chains can be distinguished, ranging from direct sales and distribution by producers to Internet sales through e-commerce operators.

Logistics Collaboration Solutions To Improve Short Food Supply Chain Solution Performance

In recent years, new forms of consumption alternative to conventional food systems have emerged across the world. These consumption patterns advocate consumption of local products, quality and the distribution with maximum one intermediary between the producer and the consumer or ideally nil. The objective of these consumption patterns, which is distributed through short food supply chain, is to reduce the externalities caused by conventional consumption modes. Many authors have shown, through analysis of case studies that the consumption of local products is not reducing automatically the negative externalities. The short food supply chain still faces many challenges in order to constitute a real alternative to the globalized food model. Among these challenges, the logistics is currently the main bottleneck for the development of this sector. The logistics become even more complex when it occurs in urban areas. The objective of this paper is to understand the specificities and the constraints of the short food supply chain in order to design suitable logistic solutions to improve short food supply chain performance.

Integrated system for decision help in urban mobility management - towards sustainable urban area development: VISUTRANS

Urban transport problems have become more widespread and severe than ever in both industrialised and developing countries alike. Facing this situation, there is a real need in developing new strategies and innovative tools for transportation and town-planning, as well as economic activities (public or private), within the area. The current tools and systems for solving transport problems are based on using several sub-management tools related to transportation infrastructures, town-planning, road traffic, environmental effects…, which are not sufficiently in interaction. These solutions lead to a severe handicap for urban homogenous and mastered development. That is why the “Urban mobility” has to be rethought. The main idea in this article concerns the development of a multimodal, prospective and flexible tool for the sustainable development of urban areas, which could help the decision makers in urban transportation fields.