by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Amazon has announced plans to invest more than €1.4 billion in the Netherlands between 2025 and 2027 — its most significant commitment since launching Amazon.nl in 2020. The move signals a substantial acceleration of the company’s ambitions in both retail and cloud services across the Dutch market. The investment will strengthen Amazon’s retail network by …
Ahold Delhaize’s omnichannel strategy continues to deliver: six consecutive quarters of double-digit online growth. Ahold Delhaize’s latest quarterly results confirm what many in the retail industry already sensed: the company’s omnichannel ecosystem is hitting its stride. With online grocery sales up 15.4% in the U.S. and 11.9% in Europe, the group has now achieved six …
The Seattle SMART project, led by the University of Washington’s Urban Freight Lab and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), examines how digital technologies can enhance the efficiency of the “last mile” of urban deliveries. Funded under the US Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) program, the project explored how curbside space …
Europe’s transport transition is accelerating, and research shows that the next wave of innovation will depend less on single technologies and more on how digital, sustainable, and social dimensions of mobility come together. A new Joint Research Centre (JRC) report maps 247 EU-funded research and innovation projects in the field of smart mobility, representing more …
“Why has it suddenly become so expensive?” a long-term customer asked last week when the account manager explained that the company would soon start driving electric trucks. That is a fair question. Anyone looking only at the price tag will be shocked: electric trucks are more expensive to purchase, charging infrastructure adds costs, and planning …
The last mile of parcel delivery – the movement from local depots to consumers – is becoming one of the biggest challenges in urban logistics. With booming e-commerce and fast delivery expectations, this stage is both the most costly and the most polluting part of the supply chain. Last-mile operations can account for more than …
Urban freight distribution has become one of the toughest sustainability challenges for modern cities. In a new study published in Transportation Research Part D, Jiménez and colleagues analyse how different distribution strategies influence operational efficiency and environmental impact of city logistics. Their goal is clear: to quantify how choices about vehicle deployment, routing, and consolidation …
The global road-transport sector is speeding toward electrification. From delivery vans to heavy-duty trucks, the transition to zero-emission transport is gathering momentum. Yet despite clear climate ambitions and growing regulatory pressure, many operators still face the same fundamental obstacle: the high upfront cost of electric vehicles and the infrastructure needed to keep them running. A …
The transition to zero-emission city logistics is not only about switching from diesel vans to electric ones. It’s also about rethinking the very vehicles we use. A recent study published in Future Transportation (2025) by Lucia Colonna, Edoardo Marcucci, Valerio Gatta, and Antonio Comi takes a deep look at one of the most promising alternatives …
The decision to electrify is logical; almost inevitable. Yet saying goodbye to diesel is far from painless. Those who see the transition merely as adding electric trucks, while neglecting the phasing out of their diesel fleet, risk operational chaos: inefficiencies, reduced CO₂ savings, financial pressure, and a workforce left behind. First, there’s capacity. Halting diesel …