A modelling approach of pooled urban consolidation centers

International audienceCity logistics are the last link of complex supply chains which involve numerous stakeholders: carriers, inhabitants, public administration, etc. It is a small part of the total traveled distance, nevertheless it can represent up to 28% of the total transport cost [1]. Moreover, air pollution emissions related to urban freight transport is estimated between 16% and 50% of the overall pollution made by transport activities in a city [2]. Most of time, communal decision-makers do not have enough knowledge to take adapting local public policy to face these stakes [3]. As aforementioned, designing efficient transport facilitates small businesses, shops and boutiques, and therefore improve livelihood and livability of cities [4]. Hence, it is necessary to provide sustainable solutions to relieve the traffic congestion on the city center and reduce the environmental impact of urban freight transport.City logistics’ solutions available in literature [5,6] seem to be based on the use of two principles: multi-modal and pooling. Two research questions emerge. The first, how could the use of multi-modal facilities address city logistics issues? The second which is the purpose of this paper: which impact would the use of pooling concept have on urban logistics?Our approach is to develop a “What if” decision support system to provide pertinent information beforehand when designing a city logistics project. Indeed, there is a pressing need to establish models allowing ex ante assessment [7,8]