Category «Food for thoughts»

ICCT Principles on Commercial Fleet Electrification and the Distribution Grid

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), working with leading EV deployment practitioners, has published nine principles to close a structural gap: vehicle electrification is outpacing utilities’ ability to energize the charging infrastructure that supports it. Left unaddressed, this mismatch risks higher electricity prices, slower EV adoption, and the erosion of public support for electrification. …

What are strategic, tactical, operational and hyperoperational decisions in a transport company?

What are strategic, tactical, operational, and hyperoperational decisions in a transport company? These four levels differ mainly in their time horizons, reversibility, and the granularity of the information they work with. Strategic decisions span years and shape the structure of the company: which markets and segments to serve (FTL, LTL, temperature-controlled, urban distribution), network design …

How Do You Determine the Right Charging Infrastructure for E-trucks?

How Do You Determine the Right Charging Infrastructure? What strategic, tactical, and operational questions do you need to answer? Electric vehicles require charging stations to recharge their batteries — stations that are located in the right places and sized to match the realities of daily urban logistics operations. Freight transport, where delivery predictability and low …

The Dutch Food Retail Sector Leads the Transition to Electric Trucks

Albert Heijn recently opened a new charging hub for electric trucks at its National Distribution Center in Geldermalsen. Equipped with ten fast chargers delivering up to 560 kW, the facility marks another significant step in decarbonizing the retailer’s logistics network. If you spot an electric truck on a Dutch motorway today, there is a good …

Competences Framework: Energy Systems for E-trucks

What competencies should a transport and warehousing professional in a logistics service company have when designing, organizing, and managing energy systems (hardware and data) for the electricification of freight? Strategic, tactical, and operational questions in charging infrastructure Companies will be electrifying their fleets in the years ahead. How do you prepare for that as a …

Warehouse of the Future Is Not a Cost Center — It’s a Strategic Weapon

Rising labor costs, a new truck toll, and energy volatility are forcing Dutch logistics managers to fundamentally rethink their approach to real estate. The message from the latest market data is unambiguous: the warehouse you choose today will define your competitive position for the next decade. The logistics sector has always operated on tight margins. …

Cities and Circular Ambitions: Stop Small Pilots and Focus on Real Impact

Many cities aim to be fully circular by 2050. That sounds like a promise. But anyone who looks honestly at what is actually happening sees mostly well-intentioned projects that deliver little in practice. Worm hotels in neighborhood gardens. A timber auction of felled city trees. Discounts on shoe repairs via local city passes. Inspiring, yes, …

The Inconvenient Truth: E-Commerce Is Not Growing Anymore

Scroll through any academic journal on city logistics, and you will find the same framing: how do we scale out-of-home delivery systems to keep pace with the rapid growth of e-commerce? It is an important-sounding question. It is also, increasingly, the wrong one. The inconvenient truth is this: e-commerce is no longer growing the way …

Why Freight Always Ends Up as the Afterthought. And Why That Has to Change

If you’ve ever sat through a transport planning meeting, you’ll recognize the pattern. Slides on walking, cycling, public transit, maybe some discussion of electric vehicles, and then, right at the end, almost apologetically: “…and freight.” Dr Daniela Paddeu has spent her career pushing back against exactly that dynamic. As Associate Professor of Sustainable Freight Futures …

Without Smart Logistics, City Centers Will Grind to a Halt

What should be included in the election programs of parties that truly care about a livable, accessible, and vital city center? It is commendable that a local party commits to smarter urban logistics… but with the right starting points. D66 Eindhoven states: “We are investing in smart urban logistics. With transshipment hubs, we ensure that …