Monthly archives: August, 2021

Cargo bikes are a winner in parcel deliveries

Electric cargo bikes provide a cleaner, quicker solution for urban deliveries, but clearer regulations and banning fossil-fuelled vehicles are key to encouraging their uptake. These were conclusions of The Promise of Low-Carbon Freight report, which, using data from logistics operator Pedal Me, found that adopting cargo bikes not only reduced carbon emissions by 90%, compared with diesel …

The rise and fall of parcel delivery companies?

Investors in the parcel delivery business are cautious. Royal Mail lost 15 percent of its value in one month, Belgian Bpost lost 18 percent. UPS and FedEx losing 7 to 9 percent. With a 5 percent drop in the AEX last week, is Dutch PostNL the next loser? Dutch PostNL sent 11 percent more parcels …

Research: exploring the feasibility of electric vehicles in the short food supply chain

The transition towards more sustainable approaches in the Food Supply Chain was concretely visible in the implementation of alternative models, like Short Food Supply Chains. Some authors raise doubts on the environmental impact of this model, in particular for the externalities caused by the transport system, suggesting the adoption of Electric Freight vehicles. By adopting …

Winning Last Mile Challenge team addresses the problem of combining mathematical routes with driver knowledge

Finding the optimal route between multiple destinations (the traveling salesman problem) is a challenge regularly faced by Amazon’s Last Mile team. Meeting that challenge has meant developing planning software to allow Amazon’s delivery fleet to find the most efficient routes. But what happens when drivers must deviate from those routes? Drivers have access to real-time …

LeasePlan and Arrival partner to bring electric vans to European cities

LeasePlan and Arrival sign partnership to bring revolutionary electric vans to European cities. LeasePlan, one of the world’s leading Car-as-a-Service companies, and Arrival, the global technology company creating electric vehicles (EVs) with its unique technologies, announced that LeasePlan will be the preferred operational leasing partner for Arrival electric vans. The partnership is based on an …

The automobile logic of policymakers hinders roll-out of LEVs

The Dutch mobility system is in transition. Because of the need for low-carbon transportation modes, various new vehicle types are being developed. These new vehicle types are also developed in the form of light and electric-powered vehicles (LEVs). The current regulation system around the admission of these new vehicle types is delegated by the Ministry …

Picnic: how does the Picnic real-time delivery radar work

Picnic is an online, mobile, and app-only supermarket providing affordable grocery shopping with free delivery in the Netherlands, Germany, and France. Picnic respects their customers’ time and aims to provide a service reflecting that. They guarantee to deliver groceries during a one-hour delivery window selected by the customer between one day and one week ahead. …

Uber: delivery business now bigger than ride hailing business

Uber’s delivery business is now bigger than its ride hailing business. Uber on Wednesday reported widening losses even as trips and deliveries grew as driver incentives hit revenue. Uber said riders returned to its platform in greater numbers in July and it expects the trend to continue in the coming months, together with strong growth …

Amazon moving closer to its US customers

Amazon doubled down on its commitment to expand supply chain capacity on its latest earnings call. In 2020, Amazon’s capital expenditures were more than three times greater than those of Walmart. Retaildive reports about it. In 2020, Amazon upped its spending as it works to stand up more delivery stations and fulfillment centers. Amazon fulfillment …

Major British companies commit to electrifying fleets by 2030

Seven major British companies (BP, BT, Direct Line Group, Royal Mail, ScottishPower, Severn Trent, and Tesco) have joined forces to create the Electric Vehicle Fleet Accelerator (EVFA) and will work together to help accelerate the mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) across the UK. The companies operate some of the largest commercial vehicle fleets in …