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The University of Southampton
Engineering

Research project: Southampton DSP (Delivery and Servicing Plans)

Currently Active:
Yes

The Southampton Delivery and Servicing Plans (Southampton DSP) project works with public bodies and private businesses to develop a sustainable strategy for managing their freight vehicle activity.

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Background

Assessments undertaken by Public Health England have indicated that up to 6% of all deaths in urban centres may be attributed to poor air quality, recognising freight vehicles to be a major contributor. Ten Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) have been identified across the city where the air quality has fallen short of the minimum standard expected under EU Legislation.

To address these issues, Southampton City Council is offering DSP to public bodies and private businesses across these areas to help them reassess their delivery and servicing strategies to reduce freight impacts.

A DSP will help an organisation to:

• Record the numbers of delivery and service vehicles visiting a premises by activity type and time.

• Manage deliveries and service activity to reduce and re-time trips

• Assesses procurement strategies to evaluate how to reduce and/or consolidate orders that generate freight movements

• Identify where safe and legal loading can take place

• Use delivery companies who can demonstrate their commitment to best practices

• Save time and money

• Improve the safety of delivery and servicing activity

• Improve reliability in a supply chain

• Reduce the environmental impact of an organisation

• Cut congestion in the local area

DSPs commonly address:

• Deliveries and collections

• Servicing trips, including maintenance of office equipment, facilities and utilities, cleaning and waste removal catering and vending

• Freight activity resulting from special events

Freight impacts can be reduced by:

• Engaging with facilities management to identify the urgency of deliveries and the scope for consolidating vehicle loads

• Working with procurement, suppliers and contracts management to ensure sustainable procurement processes e.g. reducing the frequency of stationary orders,   or consolidating orders between different departments

• Co-ordinating and managing delivery and servicing activities to take place during specific times of the day

• Encouraging safe and lawful loading by providing legal loading areas or by scheduling deliveries for when it is safe to do so using booking systems

What do they involve?

A DSP requires an independent audit of a business’s core goods and service activities using surveys, interviews and desk analysis of procurement and delivery records for a standard operating period. It then quantifies the daily freight and servicing activity (arrival times of vehicles by activity type, the duration of visits (loading/ unloading/ servicing), the recipient department and size and urgency of items). It also identifies the background to the procurement processes which lead to the generation of orders and freight activity.

Companies who are undertaking/have undertaken Southampton DSPs:

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Related research groups

Transportation Group

Conferences and events associated with this project:

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