Newcastle urban freight scheme wins academic award

Newcastle University’s Smartfusion project to reduce the number of delivery vehicles on campus has won an award in the Leadership and Management Awards organised by The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education.

Smartfusion is an EU funded project built upon existing urban freight development strategies from the three trial city regions.

The Newcastle project sees deliveries redirected to an off-site consolidation centre and then distributed throughout the university using an all-electric vehicle.

Research conducted as part of the project, which began in May 2013, revealed that deliveries comprised about 20 per cent of traffic entering the campus with almost 1,300 vehicles a week.

Consolidated deliveries for four suppliers began in August 2014 using a 7.5t electric vehicle. More than 30 of the major suppliers are now involved in the project, which ultimately aims to reduce the number of delivery vehicles visiting the campus each week by 300 and save 90 tonnes of carbon a year.

Awarding Newcastle University the Outstanding Procurement Team Award, the judges said: “The benefits include cost savings to the university along with improvements to health and safety around the campus while protecting the environment using electric vehicles.

The European Commission-funded Smartfusion project held its final event in Berlin last month. As well as Newcastle, the project included trials in Berlin and Como in Italy. The City of Berlin demonstrated integrated technology solutions, while Como showcased a remote monitoring system for fully-electric vehicles.

The final event entitled “Smart Urban Freight Conference 2015”, it showcased how urban policymakers and operators can analyse the likely success and benefits of applying green vehicle technologies to their city regions and supply chains, and leverage proven best practices.

The results included the Smart Urban Freight Designer Tool as well as best practices from the partner cities and regions.

Source: logisticsmanager.com
Portal: logistik-express.com