City logistics for perishable products. The case of the Parma's Food Hub

This paper analyzes schemes for delivering food to urban food outlets, i.e. corporate retail chains, independent retailers and the hotel, restaurants and catering (Ho.Re.Ca.) sector. We present a case study of Parma, Italy, where traffic regulations, delivery services and an urban distribution center have been implemented in order to improve efficiency and reduce the adverse impacts of urban food distribution within the city. The study depicts the role of public actors in defining policy measures and, in particular, focuses on the wholesale produce market, which has been revitalized by means of the Food Hub concept to provide consolidation services as an urban distribution center. Finally, we propose generalization to place our findings in the wider context of European city logistics studies.