A Business Model Assessment and Evaluation Framework for City Logistics Collaborative Strategic Decision Support

Several City Logistics (CL) initiatives have emerged in the last two decades with the aim to reduce the negative externalities of freight distribution in urban areas. Such initiatives can be public and/or private but need to not break or impeach current operations efficiency so to not hinder their profitability. In order to provide business value to CL initiatives and thus fostering their long-term success, it is necessary to understand the decision-making of private companies operating in the urban freight ecosystem. This paper proposes an ex-ante assessment and evaluation framework built around the concept of an ecosystem business modelling that includes the decision-making by CL stakeholders. A theoretical framework previously developed is extended to evaluate a collaborative business model of an Urban Consolidation Centre (UCC). Cost-Benefit analysis (CBA is used estimate the impact of the business model configuration. Finally, research and practice implications are also addressed.