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This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the strategic adjustments in China's transportation structure, with a particular focus on the pivotal role of railway freight and its integration into the modern logistics system. It seeks to address the need for a more nuanced understanding of the “road to rail” policy, emphasizing the importance of intermodal collaboration and service of fragmented market demands.

The study employs a transport economics perspective to evaluate the achievements and shortcomings of China's transportation structure optimization. It bases its assessment of the current state of railway freight logistics, multi-modal transportation and the broader implications for the transportation service market on data analysis. The methodology includes a review of existing policies, an examination of industry practices and a comparative analysis with global trends in railway logistics.

The research underscores the importance of focusing on the development of non-bulk materials, noting the insufficiency in the development of China's rail multi-modal transportation and highlighting the instructive value of successful cases in open-top container road-rail intermodal transportation. The study posits that the railway sector must enhance cooperation with other market entities, aligning with the lead enterprises in the logistics chain that are characterized by speed, high value and strong coordination capabilities, in order to better serve the transportation market. This approach moves away from a reliance on the railway's own capabilities alone.

This paper offers original insights into the transformation of railway freight in China, contributing to the body of knowledge on transportation economics and logistics. It provides valuable recommendations for policymakers and industry practitioners, emphasizing the strategic importance of railway logistics in the context of China's economic development and intense competition in the supply chain. The value of the article lies in its comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in the adjustment of transportation structures, providing direction for the market-oriented reform of China's railway freight sector.

Purpose – The aim of the chapter is to explore the link between logistics and territory, particularly at local scale with ‘freight villages’. This topic is a matter for transport economics and management as well as for urban and regional planning.

Methodology – The methodology of this research relies on the exploitation of existing limited literature and on a practical field experience, using contact with professionals as well as with local authorities, comparing logistics regional planning in China and France. The process of conception, building and operation of logistics premises and areas is analysed, identifying the private and public actors who take part to it, and the rationales guiding their actions.

Results and perspectives – The necessity to insert logistics into its spatial environment obeys evolving concerns: in an initial phase, the aim is mere quantitative growth of production, trade and freight; today, logistics facilities must contribute to the search for sustainable development. The exchange of experience and of best practices, linked with academic observation, feeds the continuation of research on this seldom-addressed topic.

The governments of Australia and the Republic of Korea recognize the importance of freight logistics in improving national competitive advantage. As they are seeking to capitalize on the economy-wide benefits to be derived from a world-class freight logistics industry, there is a need to keep abreast of their respective freight logistics policy initiatives as the basis for exploring prospects for mutual cooperation within the broader Asian-Pacific context. Attention here is focused on evaluating the Australian Government 's Freight Transport Logistics Industry Action Agenda to reflect on its relevance to the Korean Government ' s aspirations to become the Business Hub of Northeast Asia as envisioned in the Presidential Committee's Road Map for Promoting Northeast Asian Logistics Hub.

Freight network planning and the application of distribution innovations are popular fields of research on sustainable urban logistics. However, considerable research on freight network design lacks a comprehensive consideration of the application of distribution innovations. This observation implies that sustainable urban freight research appears highly fragmented in topics of network design and distribution innovations. From the perspective of long-term planning, this situation possibly serves as a barrier to further promotion of sustainability. The objective of this paper is to analyze existing research gaps of literature to further promote the sustainability of urban logistics systems from a future perspective.

This paper employs a systematic literature review (SLR) method, which covers 164 papers and research works published in 2013–2018. The article corpus involved the innovative schemes of freight network design and the emerging delivery concepts in cities. Based on an analysis of articles' relevance, the most significant research contributions on both city logistics network design and exploitation of distribution innovations are detected.

This paper has found four research gaps in aspects of network design and distribution innovations. To respond to these gaps, we propose the research framework of sustainable and flexible future urban freight planning (SFFUFP) based on trends of city development, while discussing further research direction on urban freight planning.

The authors have found four research gaps in aspects of both urban freight network design and distribution innovations in which scholars could be encouraged to contribute. The research framework of SFFUFP can further promote sustainable urban logistics from a view of future management.

Environmental emissions are increasing in the urban areas. Much of the emissions arise from public procurement activities given that public sector firms are major customers to many supplying firms. Given the tremendous contribution, this study aims to examine the adoption of environmentally friendly urban freight logistics practices among public sector firms through assessing the impact of urban environmental governance, government environmental communication and organizational environmental governance.

Data for the study were collected in a single time period from central procuring and disposing entities (public sector firms) in the urban areas. A sample of 105 public sector firms in were used. One procurement officer and one member of the contracts committee were the key informants in the study. AMOS SPSS version 26 was used to obtain the results for the structural model and measurement model, respectively.

The findings indicate that the adoption of environmentally friendly urban freight logistics practices among public sector firms is significantly influenced by government environmental communication, organizational environmental governance and urban environmental governance. Urban environmental governance significantly influences organizational environmental governance. Urban environmental governance fully mediates the relationship between government environmental communication and public sector firms’ adoption of environmentally friendly urban freight logistics practices. Also, urban environmental governance and organizational environmental governance mediate the relationship between government environmental communication and adoption of environmentally friendly urban freight logistics practices.

This study examined the adoption of environmentally friendly urban freight logistics practices among public sector firms. However, the study was conducted in a public procurement setting rather than a private sector procurement setting. Also, the study examined the impact of government environmental communication on public sector firms’ adoption of environmentally friendly urban freight logistics practices ignoring the impact of internal communications made within the public sector firms on environmental issues.

This study examined the adoption of environmentally friendly urban freight logistics practices among public sector firms. Freight logistics in public sector procurement has not been given significant attention in earlier research. Emphasis is placed on sustainable public sector procurement ignoring other aspects that would help curb environmental emissions that may arise during and after the delivery of public procurement requirements.

The purpose of this research is to identify key attributes of freight logistics service quality and to examine how these attributes impact shippers' selection of third‐party logistics service providers (3PLs). The knowledge and understanding of these attributes can be of great value to 3PLs when developing marketing strategies to attract and retain clients.

A literature review was carried out to identify the main attributes of freight logistics service quality. In‐depth interviews were subsequently undertaken to validate and refine the freight logistics service attributes. A questionnaire was then developed and a survey conducted. Logistics regression analyses were performed to examine the impact of freight logistics service attributes on shippers' decision to select 3PLs.

A total of 24 freight logistics service attributes were identified and categorised based on the SERVQUAL model into six dimensions: reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy, responsiveness, and cost. Freight logistics service quality was found to impact shippers' selection of 3PLs significantly. In the assessment of the impact of each individual service attribute it was observed that accuracy of documents; EDI and E‐commerce services; customer relationship management; customer care; updated freight rates; and consolidation provision significantly influenced how shippers selected 3PLs.

The focus of the study is limited to international freight logistics services, while other logistics services, such as inventory management or warehouse management, were not included. The context of the study is related to Thailand and the provision of international freight service in the country.

An understanding of key attributes based on key freight logistics service quality can help 3PLs in developing marketing strategies that provide services that are considered to be critically important to their customers.

The purpose of the study is to define key freight logistics service quality attributes and their respective impact on shippers' decision‐making process when choosing a 3PL.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how customers from different market segments assess the quality of freight forwarding services, depending on the structure of services, as well as the mutual relation between the freight forwarder and the customers.

The research is based on the SERVQUAL model and surveys. The methodology for measuring the quality of logistics services in freight forwarding companies is developed. On the basis of the proposed methodology, the empirical research was conducted. The study includes 120 logistics professionals dealing with import and export trade flows who thereby use the services of freight companies. The verification of the SERVQUAL instrument, results and hypotheses are conducted using the factor analysis and ANOVA.

The results show that logistics service quality (LSQ) of freight forwarding companies in Serbia is not at a satisfactory level. Different market segments evaluate the level of quality of service in a different way. Also, customer exceptions and the level of quality depend on the structure of services, as well as the mutual relation between the freight forwarder and the customers.

Empirical research and the results are limited to the Serbian market, and only one measurement tool.

The procedure and results of the research have practical applications and set the basis for the improvement of forwarding and logistics services.

This is one of the first papers dealing with the LSQ of freight forwarding companies in Serbia. Generally, the developed approach can be successfully applied on other markets, which adds value to this paper. New research hypotheses are developed and tested. In that manner, this paper makes contribution in measuring and improving the LSQ.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse a case of local freight stakeholder involvement to plan and design eco-efficient city logistics innovations in Como, a small city in Italy. While the importance of a well-functioning urban goods distribution system is widely acknowledged, city authorities have become increasingly aware of the need to minimise the negative impacts associated to the system. There are now countless examples of attempts to increase the eco-efficiency of urban freight deliveries; however, very few have made a notable impact. The success of such schemes often depends upon the response of a range of private sector freight stakeholders and their involvement during the planning process of these solutions is crucial.

To engage local freight stakeholders within the planning process of a city logistics project, the logical framework approach, in the form of the design and monitoring framework (DMF) developed by the Asian Development Bank, has been applied.

The structured consultation process implied within the DMF approach allowed urban freight stakeholders to share their aspirations from the beginning of the city freight planning process, despite their differences in priorities in adopting eco-efficient logistics innovations. The process ensured that city stakeholders accepted and committed to the city logistics strategies formulated during the consultation process, namely: changes to the Limited Traffic Zone regulation, the use of an urban consolidation centre and hybrid electric truck adoption.

The evaluation of the DMF application will be definitive after the demonstration/implementation stage of the city logistics project. It will then become clear if freight stakeholders have committed to the project and if it is effective in delivering the expected outputs and outcomes.

Local city authorities may find this method useful in situations where a structured consultation process is needed for addressing urban freight issues. This is especially the case in the context of introducing innovative, eco-efficiency solutions.

The application of DMF in the developed environment can be considered novel; this paper extends this with an application to the promotion of sustainable urban freight.

The digital evolution of production and logistics systems requires seamless integration of various functions. Cyber-physical systems (CPS) can streamline operations, reduce costs and optimise freight transport dynamics. Therefore, CPS adoption is essential to transform existing logistics infrastructure by connecting logistical equipment to cyberspace. This research addresses the critical issue of low CPS adoption in logistics. By analysing the barriers, the study proposes effective strategies to increase CPS integration significantly.

This study used the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework and identified 18 barriers to CPS adoption in freight logistics. The barriers were then analysed using the fuzzy data-driven multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method, i.e. fuzzy-based decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (Fuzzy-DEMATEL).

The computational analysis of the proposed framework shows that “the complexity of CPS and lagged data-driven logistics infrastructure” (T₁) is a major technological inhibitor to CPS adoption. The “high cost of CPS technology” (O₈) and a “lack of top management support” (O₃) are the top causal inhibitors at the organisational level. “Lack of data governance and regulatory framework” (E₂) is the main environmental inhibitor.

The causal mapping of the TOE-based barriers helps policymakers and logisticians to develop strategies or follow recommended adoption strategies to improve CPS adoption in logistics.

This study is a pioneering effort to unveil the adoption barriers of CPS in the freight logistics industry and suggest strategies for fostering adoption. This research could provide valuable insights for logistics organisations to support CPS-driven logistics modernisation.