Dry port construction facilitates intermodal freight transport in the import and export corridors, especially for landlocked countries. Selecting the optimal locations for dry ports is a crucial component of national planning. In this study, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) combined with GIS was used to map suitable sites for dry ports. Essential criteria for selecting optimum dry port locations were identified from the literature and a Simple Multi-Attribute Ranking Technique (SMART) was used for expert weighting these criteria. The results revealed that distance from road and distance from railway are the two most important criteria, while distance from a seaport is the least important. Application of the method to identify optimal dry port locations in Ethiopia showed that most of its territory is moderately suitable for dry port location. However, most of the existing dry ports in the region are found to lie within the highly suitable areas. Overall, the suitability map developed in this study provides a rich basis of information for future sustainable dry port investments.

Digitalisation is transforming logistics operations worldwide. However, low-income countries continue to face significant barriers to adoption, including limited infrastructure and resources. In Ethiopia, supply chains remain inefficient due to inadequate technological integration. The technology acceptance model (TAM) has been used by several researchers to explain the usage and adoption of technologies. However, this framework has rarely been applied to digital logistics in the context of low-income countries. This study empirically investigated the intention of stakeholders in Ethiopian supply chains to adopt digital technologies using a modified version of TAM. Data were collected through an extensive survey of logistics professionals. The results indicated that, beyond perceived usefulness and ease of use, external factors such as infrastructure availability, human resource capacity, technological accessibility and supportive policies, significantly influence stakeholders' intention to adopt digital technologies. The study emphasises the importance of awareness-raising initiatives and the development of digital strategies to support successful digital transformation in low-income countries. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to better understand the relationship between technology adoption, user perceptions and enabling conditions.

Digital technologies are essential tools that enable traceability in supply chains. In low-income countries, traceability represents a challenge due to the complicated structure of supply chains and the involvement of multiple stakeholders. This research developed a framework for a digital traceability system (TS), using the Ethiopian coffee supply chain as a case study. A literature review was conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of state-of-the-art digital traceability technologies. A logistics audit was conducted to map the coffee supply chain in Ethiopia and evaluate the implementation level of traceability technologies. Although the implementation of traceability technologies in the Ethiopian coffee supply chain is low, the results revealed that the usage of traceability technologies improves downstream of the supply chain. The traceability framework developed in this study ranges from a paper-based TS to a fully digitalised TS. The implementation of a TS in the coffee supply chain of Ethiopia is met with several challenges such as affordability, limited awareness, resistance of certain stakeholders, infrastructure limitations, restricted accessibility of some technologies and insufficient policy frameworks. Stakeholders from low-income countries can use the framework developed in this study to adopt a TS for their supply chains in line with their needs and current digitalisation levels.

The present study assesses the level of digital technology adoption in the inter-modal freight transport system, with the case study of Ethiopia. To achieve the objectives, we utilized questionnaires and conducted site visits to the companies involved. The results show that all the companies have an equally high level of fundamental technology adoption. However, the use of advanced information and communication technologies, such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things, is limited. Ethiopian's railway transport company uses up-to-date technologies (such as real-time tracking and communication with drivers), whereas road transport companies widely use conventional technologies (such as phone calls) in providing transport services. To increase the level of digital technology adoption, and thus the overall efficiency of the intermodal transport systems, the study revealed a need for investment in human resources, encompassing awareness creation and IT skills training, in parallel to investments in the actual technologies.

Urban logistics policies have become instrumental in achieving sustainable transport systems. Developing and emerging countries still lag far behind in the implementation of such policies when compared with developed countries. This exposure gap provides an opportunity for policy transfer, but this is a complex process requiring knowledge of many contextual factors and involving multiple steps. A good understanding of those contextual factors of measures by cities may be critical for a successful transfer. Our study aimed to identify the different contexts of urban logistics measures or policies worldwide and to assess their significance for policy transferability. In this study, urban logistics measures discussed in the literature were retrieved with a systematic literature review method and then the contexts were recorded, distinguishing between economic development levels and geographical regions. The analysis revealed that the economic level and geographical location of cities both have a strong association with the type of measure implemented. Barriers and drivers were identified by assessing policy transfer between developed and developing countries. Institutional and physical barriers appeared to be highly pertinent for a range of measures, while drivers or facilitators were identified from specific problems in developing countries and the respective measures in developed countries. Thus, the analysis of contextual factors can provide a first response to the key challenges and opportunities of sustainable urban logistics policies transfer to developing countries.