Innovation in Road Freight Transport: Quantifying the Environmental Performance of Operational Cost-Reducing Practices

Abstract

Road transportation is a key mode of transport when it comes to ensuring the hinterland connection of most European ports. Constrained by low profit margins and having to be active in a highly competitive market, companies active in this sector seek multi-dimensional innovative solutions that lower their operational costs. These innovative initiatives also yield positive environmental effects. The latter however are poorly recognized. This paper investigates the characteristics of different types of chassis used to transport containers from and to the terminals in the port areas and looks into the details of operational planning practices. It analyses the cost-effectiveness of these innovative solutions highlighting both the costs and the environmental emissions they save. Transport data from a road hauler serving the hinterland connection of a port in Western Europe is used to build up a case study. Results show that by using special types of chassis, which enable the combination of transport tasks in round-trips, the operational costs are reduced by 25% to 35%, and equally the CO2 emissions are also decreased by 34% to 38%.

Cost Models and Cost Factors of Road Freight Transportation: A Literature Review and Model Structure

“…Carlan et al [58] studied the quantifying of environmental performance of operational cost-reducing practices in road freight transport. They analysed the cost-effectiveness of innovative solutions highlighting both the costs and the environmental emissions they save.…”

Bid Evaluation and Assessment of Innovation in Road Construction Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

“…According to Kandybin and Kihn (2004), for corporations to maximize invest of return on innovation in evaluating bids, an efficient innovation value chain is essential as shown in Figure 6. The innovation value chain consists of four critical types of capabilities namely: commercialization, ideation, development and project selection [39,56].…”

Innovation in the maritime sector: aligning strategy with outcomes

“…Several reasons can be advanced to explain limited interest among scholars and practitioners in how innovation is accounted for in transport firm strategic processes, ranging from the specific industry structure of some transport segments, characterised by small firms lacking resources to engage in innovation processes, the relatively riskier nature of some transport businesses, the governance models adopted by some transport firms, the relatively greater role played by the public sectors, and the lack of technical and managerial know-how, to mention but a few (e.g. Naor, Druehl, and Bernardes 2018;Arduino et al 2013;Mathauer and Hofmann 2019;Carlan, Sys, and Vanelslander 2019). Innovation that does not generate value will not improve firm performance (Weston and Robinson 2008;Woodruff 1997), and it is the main task of strategic processes to define how customer value is generated (Ireland and Webb 2007).…”

“…In order to understand how to better capture innovation processes in maritime supply chains, some authors have tried to develop innovation taxonomies (e.g. Bessant and Tidd 2007;Carlan et al 2017;Carlan, Sys, and Vanelslander 2019), but so far little understanding has emerged on how these taxonomies are linked to internal firm strategic processes. And yet, the main objective of these new technologies, products, systems, or processes is that of generating value for the organization!…”