From the article: The ‘Axiomatic Design Methodology’ uses ‘Axioms’ that cannot be proven nor derived from physical phenomena. The axioms serve as guidelines for the design process of products and systems. The latest contribution was the addition of the ‘Complexity Axiom’ in 1999. However, the underlying theory of complexity did not get much traction by designers and their managers yet. It emphasises difficulties in the design, not primarily focussing on solutions. The ‘Theory of Complexity’ is converted to a ‘Theory of Maturity’ in this paper. It is supported with a graphical way to plot maturity as it develops. It visualises the results in a way that can be understood by all entities in a company, engineers, managers, and executives. Understanding the maturity of a system enables selection of the right measures to control it. Visualisation enables communication between the interacting parties. If successful development trajectories are understood, eventually from earlier experience, even better corrective actions can be applied. The method appears an affirmative way to graphically represent progression in design, thus presenting advances in a positive context. Though positively presented, it is not the case that the method hides problems; presumed and legitimate project progression can be quite different, which challenges the designer to understand the process. In this way, the method sends out a continuous warning to stay critical on design choices made.
With the approach of the zero emission zone implementation in 30-40 cities mandated by the Dutch Klimaatakkord, comes the need to determine whether the SMEs located within these zones are aware of the coming changes and if they are, how far they have come in their preparation. This paper delves into the development of the zero emission city logistics maturity model tool which is used to indicate the progress of these small to medium enterprises in light of reaching fully zero emission city logistics operations. The paper starts off with a review of existing maturity models which forms the baseline for the zero emission city logistics maturity model in rubric form. A QuickScan analysis is developed in order to facilitate data collection by students who then approach businesses and use the QuickScan results to benchmark the businesses progress against other businesses. This paper then concludes with the preliminary results from the initial QuickScans performed by HBO level students.
Municipalities play an important role in tackling city logistics related matters, having many instruments at hand. However, it is not self-evident that all municipalities use these instruments to their full potential. A method to measure city logistics performance of municipalities can help in creating awareness and guidance, to ultimately lead to a more sustainable environment for inhabitants and businesses. Subsequently, this research is focused on a maturity model as a tool to assess the maturity level of a municipality for its performance related city logistics process management. Various criteria for measuring city logistics performance are studied and based on that the model is populated through three focus fields (Technical, Social and Corporate, and Policy), branching out into six areas of development: Information and communication technology, urban logistics planning, Stakeholder communication, Public Private Partnerships, Subsidisation and incentivisation, and Regulations. The CL3M model was tested for three municipalities, namely, municipality of Utrecht, Den Bosch and Groningen. Through these maturity assessments it became evident the model required specificity complementary to the existing assessment interview, and thus a SWOT analysis should be added as a conclusion during the maturity assessment.
