Urban freight transport accounts for nearly a third of global freight-related greenhouse gas emissions and faces complex challenges driven by urbanisation and e-commerce growth. Urban consolidation centres (UCCs) offer a potential solution to lower the emissions by consolidating shipments to reduce vehicle trips and provide additional benefits, yet they face challenges related to operational success, financial sustainability, and viability. While most research focuses on transport aspects, investigations from a logistics management perspective considering factors like overall logistics costs and delivery services are limited. To address this gap, the purpose of this thesis is to review and synthesise existing research on UCCs from a logistics management perspective, focusing on services provided and their influence on distribution system performance.

A systematic literature review was conducted using a deductive approach guided by an analytical framework with four predefined service categories (delivery, warehousing, reverse logistics, and pre-retailing) and five performance attributes (time, cost, quality, productivity, and flexibility). Alongside the logistics management perspective, an underlying systems perspective was applied. A descriptive analysis and a thematic analysis were conducted. For the thematic analysis, a combined deductive and inductive category assignment was used, with the inductive elements added to deepen understanding of variation within the deductively derived categories. During the coding phase, a total of 20 service subcategories and 17 performance-related subcategories were formulated.

The analysis identified five key services provided by UCCs (consolidation, customised delivery time, long- and short-term storage, and recycling) which can be considered value-added as they deliver measurable benefits that shippers and receivers are likely to value. Delivery is the most frequently discussed category overall, while long-term storage is the most prominent subcategory. These services improve operational efficiency, vehicle fill rates, resource utilisation, and reduce urban delivery vehicles and costs. Cost is the most emphasised performance attribute, followed by productivity, with priorities differing across services. Benefits are context dependent, as factors such as additional distribution steps or limited adoption may offset gains. The findings highlight the need for a systems perspective to understand how service benefits and trade-offs interact across actors, distribution stages, and operational conditions. These findings carry both theoretical and managerial implications: they highlight the importance of a systems perspective for evaluating UCC performance and provide key considerations for designing and operating UCC services to improve overall performance and operational outcomes.