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The paper presents the procedure for selecting a scenario for the development of the logistics system in a company with a developed trading and logistics network, but also with the significant supply problems. In order to solve the existing logistics problems, but also to respond to future requirements and business plans, four logistics system development scenarios are defined. Each scenario has certain characteristics which can be seen as the advantages or disadvantages in the comparative analysis. Since the choice of development scenarios depends on several factors, their ranking in terms of different criteria requires the application of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. A hybrid model based on a combination of the fuzzy AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) and fuzzy VIKOR (Višekriterijumska Optimizacija i kompromisno Rešenje) methods was used to solve the problem.

In logistic processes and systems, there are sets of a large number of different units - products, articles. In order to facilitate, quickly and reliably identify and find the unit, there is a need for their labeling and coding. Articles move in time and space, go through different systems and procedures, so their monitoring and management is inconceivable without complex algorithms and logistic processes management systems, which are most often supported by modern IT technologies. On the other side, the application of information systems, and hence the efficiency and effectiveness of logistics processes and systems, depends on the coding system. This paper presents the problems and principles of defining a unique coding system for products and their impact on logistics processes and systems.

Intermodal transport represents a key element in economic system of the developed countries, but its importance is growing in the developing countries as well. Since cost reduction, improvement of service quality and sustainable development are objectives of the European Union, intermodal transport promotion became an essential constituent of its development plans. However, efficient development requires engagement of all members and harmonization of national policies with those of EU, which often is not the case. There are differences among countries regarding intermodal transport treatment in strategic development plans. The mentioned differences are analyzed in this paper in order to obtain guidelines and successful practice models that will help the developing countries in catching up with the developed ones. The biggest problems in the plans of the developing countries are: undefined objectives, interventions and poor institutional framework. Experience and problem solving approaches, established institutions and bodies, as well as a way of dealing with concerned mater in the developed countries should help intermodal transport improvement in the developing countries and hence enable growth of European competitiveness at global level.

Changes in economic and social environments are more dynamic, and survival in the market requires a wide range, increase efficiency and quality of logistics services. The competitiveness of the region and the city, as the leader of economic development, depends on the efficiency of logistics solutions that must be adaptive to new conditions and demands of the market. This paper presents some of the most important global trends in terms of impact on the urban logistics. In order to define sustainable solutions, the analysis of presented social, economic, technological, environmental and other trends should be integral part of the city logistics planning and management.

The main objective of city logistics system is sustainability, or efficiency, wide acceptability, environmental protection and safety. On the other hand, the city logistics system is very complex. It is characterized by a large number of participants, with different, usually conflicting goals and complex interactions. In addition, the system of city logistics is part of a wider system of the town, the region, and there are complex interactions with the external environment. The system depends on the specific characteristics of the city, affects other forms of urban mobility and is subject to the policies of higher rank (regional, national policy). Given the exceptional complexity, sustainable city logistics solution requires an integrated approach in all phases of planning, from stages of problem identification, definition of alternative solutions and effects assessment, to implementation and by exploitation. In this way, the solution of city logistics is becoming widely accepted and not only affects the efficiency of the socio-economic system of town, already on the sustainability of the whole region.

Urban logistics systems are intensively changing and adapting to the demands of efficient supply and environmental protection. The productivity and profitability of companies and satisfaction of the resident's requirements in terms of the availability of various goods at lower prices, depends on the efficiency of the urban logistics system. On the other side, the level of interest in the environment is growing and initiates researches and implementation of effective and sustainable initiatives, city logistics concepts. The most frequently applied initiatives are those that relate to the regulation or restrictions and control of access for the urban freight vehicles. However, these initiatives don't solve the problems of commodity flows and can worsen logistics performance. Furthermore, they have not proved effective in terms of the environment and economy. For this reason, the concepts that involve the cooperation of carriers and consolidation of flows are promoted. They are focused on logistics activities and can provide many positive effects for the purpose of environmental and economic sustainability. Nevertheless, they are rarely implemented in practice, and most were scarcely successful. Mentioned facts indicate the importance of research of these conceptions, both from the aspect of the structure and characteristics of the logistics system, and the aspect of the role and functions of the public sector in their promotion.

City is the place of the largest concentration of economic and social activities, and the delivery of goods is a prerequisite for the maintenance of urban life and business activities for achieving wealth and development of the city. Logistics systems and processes that enable the realization of commodity flows support employment and generate income, but may also have negative impacts on all essential functions of the city. Therefore, logistics plays an important role in the competitiveness of urban areas and should be an integral part of the city's economy. From the perspective of sustainable development, i.e. social, environmental and economic efficiency, logistics processes primarily urban freight transport, are far from optimal. The growth of road freight transport and traffic congestion, air pollution and other negative impacts on the environment, inefficient use of land and the rising costs of delivery of goods affect the definition and exploration of different initiatives of city logistics. This paper describes the initiatives that do not require large infrastructure investments and do not change the existing urban context, but can improve its sustainability.

City logistics is a field that attracts increasing attention of professionals and scientific community and international organizations. Research on problems of urban areas' logistics gives different results and practical solutions. City logistics flows are characterized by partiality, spatial dispersion of generators, diversity in terms of the logistics chains structure, frequency of a large number of smaller shipments, dynamism, stochasticity etc. Problems and the complexity of logistics in urban areas as well as significant decline in the quality of life in modern cities have caused the development of initiatives and concepts of city logistics which should allow the sustainable development of urban areas. The first part of this paper presents the problems of city logistics and impact of logistics activities on urban areas in terms of economic, environmental and social sustainability. The second part presents city logistics initiatives that involve the change of urban area context, in order to improve its sustainability.

The number and spatial dispersion of households and their resources (means of transport, storage space, human resources, etc.), a large number of daily trips of various motives (shopping, work, school, tourism, waste disposal, etc.), makes households important participants in logistics chains. Moreover, these features make them potentially very important providers of logistics services of delivery, storage, waste collection, etc., both for other households and for companies. The use of logistics services, resources of households, i.e. individuals, known as crowd logistics, is experiencing rapid development with the advent of numerous networks and applications, through which users connect with each other and get the opportunity to state and accept requests for logistics tasks. In this paper, the role of households in the performance of logistics demands of other households and companies is analyzed and the basic crowd logistics services are structured, with special reference to the services in the last mile of the supply chain. Also, the basic benefits were identified, as well as the disadvantages, problems and challenges in the application of this concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of intermodal transport (IT) systems is one of the global and European imperatives with the goal of mitigating logistics activities (especially transportation) negative impact on the environment, but also to improve the efficiency of logistics systems. Despite its importance acknowledged long ago, the treatment of IT greatly varies in different countries. In the developed countries, IT has an institutional character and clearly defined development directions, while in the developing countries, the problems of IT in most cases are ignored. The main scientific contribution of this paper is in being the first one to assess the status of IT in the countries of the Danube region. Seven criteria and six evaluation scenarios, that were not present in the existing literature in this form, are defined, which represents another contribution of the paper. The criteria are defined so that they would include the treatment of IT in strategic documents, the opinions of users and service providers, but also empirical/ statistical indicators of IT development degree. The evaluation scenarios differ in the criteria significance and the aspect of the problem. A novel hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model, based on fuzzy SWARA and fuzzy MARCOS methods, is developed for the assessment, which represents an additional scientific contribution of the paper. According to IT results, the countries are grouped into five categories, micro-regions. The results indicate that with the degree of economic development the status of IT improves as well, so Germany and Austria are leading, followed by the Czech Republic, then by countries such as Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia, while other countries fall behind greatly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing competition in the global market imposes the need for proper planning of logistics processes and development of logistics networks, where logistics centers (LCs) as nodes in these network play a key role. LCs can have different structures defined by various elements characteristics, and accordingly different efficiencies. In order to identify those that would represent benchmarks for other LCs it is necessary to define the broadest set of possible structures. However, in practice a number of structures is limited, which doesn't mean there might not be some which would be competitive or more efficient than the existing ones. Therefore the goal of this paper is the modeling of potential LC structures, based on the identified dependencies between the elements characteristics and the existing structures' efficiencies. The model is tested in a case study of modeling a potential intermodal terminal structure as one of the possible LC forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macro-regional strategies of the European Union are a framework of integration that arise at the initiative of the Commission and with the consent of the Council and the European Council to address the common challenges faced by a certain geographical region. The strategy refers to the European Union Member States and third countries wishing to participate in it and aims to achieve economic and social harmony in a particular region. Bearing in mind that the Danube flow is the most important waterway within the European Union, the EU has decided to create in 2011 a macroregional strategy to globally regulate the transport, energy, environmental protection and cultural cooperation. Increasing the volume of goods transport on the Danube, the modernisation of the fleet, energy connectivity, environmental protection, tourism exchange, scientific and security cooperation are an integral part of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. This strategy should bring what the Danube River States have always been lacking, and it is a vision of common development, common and solidary access to problems, specifically planned actions and the means of financing them. The European Union now has political authority and integrative potential to stimulate and coordinate this macro-regional strategy, but it remains to be seen to what extent the previously mentioned will be realised in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Yearbook of the Faculty of Political Sciences / Godisnjak Fakultet Politickih Nauka Beograd is the property of University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)