<i>Background</i>: The rapid digital transformation in logistics requires the adaptation of transport companies to electronic information management, particularly through the implementation of electronic consignment notes (e-CMR). This study examines how the digitization of transport documentation affects the competitiveness, operational efficiency, and environmental performance of road freight transport companies. <i>Methods</i>: A questionnaire survey was conducted among Slovak and Czech carriers to analyze their experience and readiness for adopting e-CMR. The collected data were evaluated using descriptive and comparative methods to quantify economic and ecological impacts, focusing mainly on invoicing efficiency and paper consumption. <i>Results</i>: The results show that only a small share of carriers currently use e-CMR, primarily due to high software costs and the lack of partner participation. Nevertheless, digitization can significantly shorten the average invoicing delay by approximately 11.5 days, releasing around 7% of tied-up working capital and improving cash flow. From an environmental perspective, the replacement of paper CMR forms could save millions of sheets annually, leading to a substantial reduction in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and paper waste within the V4 region. <i>Conclusions</i>: The findings confirm that the adoption of e-CMR improves economic performance, increases transparency, and contributes to sustainability, representing a crucial step toward a more competitive and environmentally responsible road freight transport sector in Europe.
Transportation and communication, Management. Industrial management
Dimos Touloumidis, Michael Madas, Vasileios Zeimpekis
et al.
<i>Background</i>: The increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events (EWEs) as a consequence of climate change pose critical challenges on the transport and logistics sector, hence requiring systematic evaluation and strategic adaptation. <i>Methods</i>: This study conducts a comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR) of 147 peer-reviewed articles and reports through a PRISMA framework to comprehensively identify key weather-induced challenges, quantify their operational, infrastructural and economic impacts, and explore alternative mitigation strategies. <i>Results</i>: With a greater focus on rainfall, flooding and snowfall, this study highlights their notable impacts causing reductions in transport efficiency, increased maintenance costs and substantial financial losses. Also, it emphasizes the role of advanced technologies, resilient infrastructure, and adaptive policy frameworks as critical enablers for enhancing sector resilience while simultaneously formulating a robust roadmap for cities and companies with actions ranging from direct operational adjustments to long-term transformational changes in policy and infrastructure. <i>Conclusions</i>: This work underscores the importance of using a data-driven approach to safeguard transport and logistics systems against evolving climate risks contributing to the broader goal of sustainable urban resilience and operational continuity.
Transportation and communication, Management. Industrial management
<i>Background</i>: Indonesia is an archipelagic country with 17,508 islands spread over the Pacific and Indian Oceans, with thousands of inter-island routes requiring a large and engaged fleet. The vast expanse of the country also leads to challenges related to optimal fleet coverage, routing, and oil distribution while maintaining cost-effectiveness and reliable supply. <i>Methods</i>: This study combined a mixed-integer linear-programming (MILP) model with a response surface methodology (RSM) approach to optimize vessel assignment, vessel routes, and inventory control simultaneously and comprehensively across three regional clusters (i.e., Western, Central, and Eastern Indonesia). The model takes into account a fleet of 28 vessels (13 medium range [MR] and 15 general purpose [GP]) that can distribute three oil products: gasoline, diesel, and kerosene. <i>Results</i>: The optimized solution yields 100% service reliability at an operational cost of $ 2.83 million per month—far lower than currently operating services. The model is robust against variations in demand (±20%), port congestion (±50%), and changing fuel prices (±50%), which is confirmed by a sensibility analysis. The close correlation coefficient (0.987) between the MILP and RSM results confirms the framework’s accuracy. At the same time, the critical performance factors were found to be vessel speed (13.5 knots), fleet size, and port operation time. <i>Conclusions</i>: The study offers a cost-efficient and data-intensive model that could be implemented as a maritime logistics framework, as well as potential areas for future work and insight for relevant stakeholders. Future research will have to integrate real-time data fusion, mainly due to the need for environmental and stochastic modeling methods to foster operational resilience in dynamic maritime business ecosystems.
Transportation and communication, Management. Industrial management
Adriana del Socorro Pabón Noguera, María del Mar Cerbán Jiménez, Juan Jesús Ruiz Aguilar
<i>Background:</i> The Port of Santa Marta, located on Colombia’s northern Caribbean coast, plays a vital role in the country’s maritime trade, particularly in the export of agricultural and perishable goods. This raises the question: how competitive is Santa Marta’s container terminal compared to national and regional ports, and what strategic factors shape its performance within the Colombia and Latin American maritime logistics system? <i>Methods</i>: This study evaluates the port’s competitiveness by applying Porter’s Extended Diamond Model. A mixed-methods ap-proach was employed, combining structured surveys and interviews with port stakeholders and operational data analysis. A competitiveness matrix was developed and examined using standardized residuals and L1 regression to identify critical performance gaps and strengths. <i>Results</i>: The analysis reveals several competitive advantages, including the port’s strategic location, natural deep-water access, and advanced infrastructure for refrigerated cargo. It also benefits from skilled labour and proximity to global shipping routes, such as the Panama Canal. Nonetheless, challenges remain in storage capacity, limited road connectivity, and insufficient public investment in hinterland infrastructure. <i>Conclusions:</i> While the Port of Santa Marta shows strong maritime capabilities and spe-cialized services, addressing its land-side and institutional constraints is essential for positioning it as a resilient, competitive logistics hub in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
Transportation and communication, Management. Industrial management
Purpose – This study examines the limitations of the practical application of letter of credit transactions requiring an on-board bill of lading under the FCA and presents opinions on the practical use of FCA-ruled bills of lading for letter of credit transactions. Design/methodology/approach – It is very significant that the IncotermsⓇ2020 FCA rules have added new content regarding the optional description of the on-board bill of lading. However, even if the seller has received the on-board bill of lading, there is a limitation in that the bank may not judge the presented documents as a consistent presentation for payment. Identifying these limitations and suggesting solutions are very important for future international commerce transactions. This study is conducted in the following order. First, we review the UCP regulations that banks apply to confirm the consistency of transportation documents in letter of credit transactions. Second, we confirm the limitations in applying the selective description of the on-board bill of lading newly established in the FCA rules proposed by the ICC to letter of credit transactions. Lastly, necessary opinions are presented on how the buying and selling parties can properly utilize the Incoterms in letter of credit transactions. Findings – The establishment of the ICC’s Incoterms 2020 FCA rule’s on-board bill of lading option regulation is intended to resolve merchants’ inconvenience caused by the document screening standards of banks that ignore changes in the trade environment such as the emergence of containers and maintain traditional ship trading practices. It can be interpreted. However, there are still problems with the presentation of on-board bills of lading under FCA rules, and there are also problems with practices between merchants and banks. Existing prior research is limited to dealing with the problems of using FOB rules in container transportation and the limitations of the onboard bill of lading option provisions of FCA rules. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has also affected trade, ushering in the digital era. Trade platforms developed with new technologies are either under development or being prepared for commercialization. Originality/value – This study reaffirmed the main implications covered in previous studies and proposed the use of multimodal transport documents rather than bills of lading as an alternative to problems that may arise in letter of credit transactions that require on-board bills of lading under FCA rules. Above all, it presented opinions on changes in banks’ practices that require on-board bills of lading in letter of credit transactions, which are inconsistent with the mainstream container-based intermodal transportation.
Regulation of industry, trade, and commerce. Occupational law, Economic growth, development, planning
Daniel Muñoz Rojas, Jairo R. Montoya-Torres, Diana M. Ayala Valderrama
<i>Background:</i> Mitigating the negative impacts of climate change and ensuring food security are critical challenges for sustainable development. Potato crops play a key role in global food security, and optimizing their supply chains can improve yields, reduce waste, and stabilize farmer incomes. This study focuses on the potato supply chain in Boyacá, Colombia, aiming to maximize profitability for smallholder farmers through a data-driven approach. <i>Methods</i>: We developed a hybrid framework combining the newsvendor model, Monte Carlo simulation, and machine learning to optimize inventory decisions under uncertain demand and price conditions. Historical data on potato demand and prices were analyzed to fit probability distributions, and simulation scenarios were run for three main potato varieties. <i>Results</i>: The results show that integrating these methods improves inventory decision-making, with the Criolla Colombia variety yielding positive profitability, while the Diacol Capiro and Pastusa Suprema varieties incur losses under current market conditions. The machine learning model enhances predictive accuracy and supports dynamic planning. <i>Conclusions</i>: The findings demonstrate the potential of advanced analytics to reduce waste, support sustainable practices, and inform agricultural policy. The proposed methodology offers a practical decision-support tool for stakeholders and can be adapted to other crops and regions facing similar operational challenges.
Transportation and communication, Management. Industrial management
Modal parameter identification of railway bridges is essential for comprehending their dynamic behavior. This understanding enables the development of numerical simulations that more accurately mirror their actual behavior. It also helps in monitoring changes in material condition through frequency variations over time and establishing the maximum speeds for trains crossing the bridge, all of which contribute to more effective and efficient management of infrastructure. This research presents a feasible and efficient methodology for determining the modal characteristics of railway bridges through analyzing their free vibration response. The methodology employs the energy sorted matrix pencil method (MPM). The standard MPM is known to identify both dominant and trivial modes, which can lead to erroneous results. By differentiating modes based on their energy levels, it is possible to isolate the dominant modes effectively, thereby avoiding the issues of mode mixing and mode splitting. Following an initial verification using synthetic multi-modal signals, the energy-sorted MPM is implemented in a real-world case study. It focuses on the modal parameter identification of a truss railway bridge under impact and service loads. The modal frequency and damping ratios were determined by analyzing the free decay responses. These identified modal damping ratios, observed under operational loads, were analyzed in comparison to those detected under impact tests. The successful application of the energy sorted MPM method in both theoretical and practical frameworks highlights its potential for structural health monitoring and maintenance of critical railway infrastructure.
Evance Hlekwayo Moyo, Stephen Carstens, Jackie Walters
<i>Background</i>: Sustainability in food supply chains is desired for production, logistics, and waste management. However, food supply chains (SCs) have complex systems that differ from other SCs. Managing such complexities is challenging for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to their heightened constraints, such as limited resources and inadequate awareness. Despite the challenges, there is fragmented research, understanding, and approaches to assist SMEs. SC designs need to be adapted so that SMEs can navigate the challenges and avert high wastage. The main objective of this research was to identify the practices influencing sustainable SC designs in a developing country and create a simulation model to illustrate the potential benefits and challenges of promoting sustainability in the banana SC in Malawi. <i>Methods</i>: Mixed-methods research was utilised, employing a literature review, participant interviews, observations, and survey data collected from 353 participants from three districts in Malawi to gain insight into the banana SC problem, establish objectives, and develop a simulation model complemented by design science research. <i>Results</i>: The research identified awareness, collaboration, efficiency, governance, knowledge sharing, and resilience as sustainability practices in the case study banana SC, thus forming a sustainability model. Simulation results showed improvements in key performance indicators like shelf-life, lead-time, quality, throughput, and waste through SC operation reorganisation. <i>Conclusions</i>: Sustainable models must be tailored to the specific challenges inherent in developing food supply chains in developing nations. The development of the models has significant managerial implications, notably enhancing strategic planning, operational efficiency, risk management, alignment of sustainability goals, performance monitoring, stakeholder engagement, and resource optimisation.
Transportation and communication, Management. Industrial management
<i>Background:</i> Milkrun-based material supply plays an important role in the automotive industry, as it is a material supply concept where high efficiency can be achieved. When implementing milkrun-based material supply, the milkrun supply of the production plant often has to be integrated with an existing warehouse material handling system, which frequently leads to a less efficient solution. <i>Methods:</i> In this paper, the author investigates the impact of a hub-based milkrun supply, where the collection processes in the component’s warehouse and the distribution processes in the assembly plant are connected to a hub, which is responsible for the sequencing of component demands. After a systematic literature review, the paper introduces a novel mathematical model, which makes it possible to describe the conventional milkrun-based solutions, the hub-based milkrun solutions, and to compare them in terms of the length of transportation routes, transportation time, total service time, and virtual emission points of view. <i>Results:</i> The scenario analysis demonstrates that the hub-based solution can lead to an efficiency improvement of about 13% in total service time, 23% savings in transportation time, and 45% savings in transportation time in the component’s warehouse. <i>Conclusions:</i> The article’s findings suggest that implementing a hub-based milkrun system in automotive material supply can significantly enhance efficiency. The described approach could lead to more streamlined operations in production plants by optimizing the integration of milkrun systems.
Transportation and communication, Management. Industrial management
Purpose – This study aims to analyze the relationship between global value chain (GVC) participation and poverty levels. Additionally, it investigates the impact of education levels, specifically analyzing literacy rates and tertiary education rates, on the correlation between GVC participation and poverty in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. Design/methodology/approach – Fixed effect and random effect models will be employed to quantify the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The Hausman test is applied to determine the appropriate estimator between fixed and random effects. Also, in the model, time-fixed effect or two-way fixed effect has been used to control for unobserved heterogeneity both across entities and over time in panel data analysis. Findings – The findings demonstrate that engagement in GVCs presents a promising avenue for stimulating development, advancing income per capita growth and facilitating job creation. Notably, the results illuminate that the poverty-alleviating impacts of GVC participation are most conspicuous in nations boasting elevated levels of educational attainment among their populace. Originality/value – This research aims to promote a better understanding of the connection between GVC participation and the level of poverty, with GVC participation decomposed into forward participation and backward participation.
Regulation of industry, trade, and commerce. Occupational law, Economic growth, development, planning
Transportation optimization is considered one of the main aspects of development in smart cities nowadays. Urban rail transport systems, as one of the key elements of passenger movement in large cities, have witnessed significant growth and advancement in utilizing modern knowledge to provide services to passengers over the years. The existence of sufficient infrastructure and the importance of better service provision to passengers have led these systems to always stay at the forefront of recent advancements in data analytics and artificial intelligence. Automatic Train Operation (ATO) is one of the infrastructures currently being implemented in urban trains worldwide, and its quality heavily relies on the accurate analysis of train status and signaling systems. This article aims to extract practical data from the movement of trains in the Shiraz metro, model it using a neural network, and then propose a new methodology for simulating and implementing the ATO system in urban trains through the design of a Fuzzy-PID controller.
Podstawą ochrony środowiska jest zasada „zanieczyszczający płaci”, wyrażona w art. 7 ustawy z dnia 27 kwietnia 2001 r. – Prawo ochrony środowiska. Nie ma ona jednak charakteru nieograniczonego, jej egzekwowanie musi się bowiem odbywać z zachowaniem reguł gwarantujących podmiotom korzystającym ze środowiska możliwość obrony własnych praw i przedstawienia swoich racji. Równocześnie powinno to następować w sposób gwarantujący bezpieczeństwo obrotu prawnego. Dlatego ustawą z dnia 7 kwietnia 2017 r. o zmianie ustawy – Kodeks postępowania administracyjnego oraz niektórych innych ustaw wprowadzono art. 189g k.p.a. określający generalne zasady przedawnienia kar pieniężnych. Niestety, zapomniano dostosować do nich analogiczne zasady wynikające z aktów prawnych, na podstawie których owe kary są wymierzane. W rezultacie przepisy szczególne zawierają wiele rozwiązań określających w całości lub częściowo autonomiczne zasady przedawnienia kar pieniężnych. Problem ten ze szczególnym nasileniem występuje w dziedzinie ochrony środowiska, zatem w opracowaniu scharakteryzowano podstawy przedawnienia poszczególnych rodzajów kar pieniężnych za naruszenie warunków korzystania ze środowiska lub prowadzenia działalności związanej z jego ochroną oraz wynikające z tego problemy. Dlatego też de lege ferenda zaproponowano podjęcie starań ukierunkowanych na ujednolicenie podstaw prawnych przedawnienia omawianego rodzaju kar. Mogłoby się to odbyć przez wyeliminowanie z aktów prawnych, które stanowią podstawę ich wymierzania, polecenia, by stosować odpowiednie przepisy Ordynacji podatkowej, gdyż odkąd rozwiązania poświęcone wymierzaniu kar pieniężnych wprowadzono do Kodeksu postępowania administracyjnego, stało się ono zbędne.
Environmental law, Regulation of industry, trade, and commerce. Occupational law
Christos Papaleonidas, Emmanouil Androulakis, Dimitrios V. Lyridis
The objective of this paper was to propose a functional simulation model for the operation of floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) used for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The physical operation of an FSRU is decomposed for each critical component of the LNG carrier (LNGC) and the FSRU, in order to construct a realistic model in Simulink. LNG mass balance equations are used to perform flow calculations from the tanks of an LNG carrier to the tanks of the FSRU and from there to shore. The simulation model produces results for cases, when multiple LNG carriers discharge cargoes during a monthly time horizon. This produces an accurate operational profile for the FSRU with information about the volume of LNG inside each of the cargo tanks of the FSRU, LNG cargo discharging and gas send-out rate. Potential practitioners may exploit the proposed planning tool to explore the feasibility of alternative operation scenarios for an FSRU terminal. The simulations can check the system sensitivity to different parameters and support schedule regarding: (i) slots for LNG carrier calls, (ii) LNG inventory fluctuation, and (iii) impact of gas demand and send-out rate changes.
Transportation and communication, Management. Industrial management
Full Duplex (FD) wireless communications is considered to be the next big step for future Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). Old (IEEE 802.11ac) and new (IEEE 802.11ax) WLAN features are expected to co-exist with FD operation. Some of these features include Downlink Multi-User (DL MU) transmissions at the physical layer while at the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer techniques such as the Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) sharing mechanism facilitates these multiuser transmissions. The traditional Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol is inadequate to support full duplex communications efficiently. A very promising adaptation of CSMA/CA and a powerful candidate as the basic channel access method for future WLANs is the Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Enhanced Collision Avoidance (CSMA/ECA). In this paper, we provide an analytical model to assess the performance of resource sharing techniques in full duplex WLANs operating with the CSMA/ECA protocol. Our analysis is based on Markov chains to obtain an estimate of the achievable throughput of the Quality of Service Access Point (QAP) during DL MU transmissions.
Smart contracts are scripts on the top of the blockchain technology. They represent a form of automation by what the layers of intermediaries can be reduced or even completely replaced. Accordingly, blockchain smart contracting systems decrease transaction and enforcement costs as well as process time.
Savrasovs Mihails, Pticina Irina, Zemlyanikin Valery
et al.
The current paper aim is to present the technique of demand data modelling for microscopic simulation of the traffic flows. Traffic microscopic simulation is a powerful decision supporting tool, which could be applied for a wide range of tasks. In a past microscopic traffic simulation was used to test local changes in transport infrastructure, but the growth of computers performance allows now to simulate wide-scale fragments of the traffic network and to apply more advanced traffic flow simulation approaches, like an example dynamic assignment (DA). The results, obtained in the frame of this research are part of the project completed for one of the shopping malls (Riga, Latvia). The goal of the project was to evaluate different development scenarios of the transport network to raise the accessibility of the shopping mall. The number of practical issues in the frame of this project pushed to develop a new technique to model the demand data for the simulation model. As a traffic flow simulation tool, the PTV VISSIM simulation software was applied. The developed model was based on dynamic assignment approach. To complete the simulation the demand data was represented in two forms: 1) OD matrix for regular traffic in the transport network; 2) trip-chain file for a description of the pass-by and targeted trips.
Bazaras Darius, Palšaitis Ramūnas, Petraška Artūras
et al.
This paper reviews the principles of transportation risk assessment in the Baltic Sea ports and hinterland. The essential steps of assessment are the identification of primary criterions, the determining the underlying criterion groups and quantitative assessment of international environment indicators and nature, infrastructure indicators and organizational indicators on the basis of the multiple-criteria evaluation methods. Designed system of criteria creates a possibility for objective evaluation of risk management processes and allows planning objectively long-term risk management strategy in the ports according to certain economic development circumstances.