How is own account transport well adapted to urban environments?
CRUZ, Cecilia
4. THE RELEVANCE OF OWN-ACCOUNT TRANSPORT USE
BASED ON SHIPMENT FREQUENCY, TONNAGE, AND
ACCESSIBILITY
Here we present a case study on a manufactured products wholesaler. The firm studied uses
own-account transport in the Paris region (Ile-de-France), and occasionally in the
neighbouring Oise département (deliveries to one municipality in 2007). It is important to note
that this firm does not sell products which might require the use of specialised delivery
equipment. Own-account transport is used for quality of service reasons. The firm considers
client relationships to be essential, and provides the complementary service of storing
merchandise after orders, delivering it whenever the client is ready. Own-account transport is
justified by the desire to assure delivery within 24 hours. Rapidity is a way to stand out
among the competition, and thus own-account delivery is a selling point.
hal-00615151, version 1 - 18 Aug 2011
30% of the firm's shipments are own-account. Until 2001, this shipper handled all of its own
shipments within the Parisian region. Then, the business redefined the borders of its own-
account service zone in order to reduce transport costs. We clearly see that the areas with
the highest frequency of deliveries (up to 94 shipments per week) are those that continue to
receive own-account service (Fig. 9 and 10). The spatial distribution of tonnage (map not
presented here), is similar to that of delivery frequency. The own-account service zone was
largely defined by the volume of merchandise delivered. The firm's market is essentially the
Parisian region; in other French regions, volumes are less concentrated.
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 - Lisbon, Portugal
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