by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Picnic is an online supermarket currently operational in the Netherlands and Germany. Groceries are ordered from an app and delivered to the consumers using a light electric last-mile delivery vehicle. This vehicle is currently used for densely populated residential adreas and works well enough to support the current number of Picnic deliveries.
VDL Steelweld, TNO Automotive and e-groceries prvider Picnic will jointly develop a new electrical last-mile vehicle. The project is called DUELL: Development of an Urban E-truck for Last-mile Logistics. In 2020 the vehicle must go into production.
City Logistics comprises of a vast variety of supply networks, each with its own service demands driven by the particular wishes of the end-customer. This heterogeneity is reflected in the wide variation in the means of transport used, from cargo bikes to 18-metre truck-trailer combinations.