by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Parcel delivery operators experience increasing pressure to meet the growing demand for delivery services while protecting city livability and the environment. Improving the performance of the last mile of delivery is considered key in meeting this challenge as it forms the most inefficient, expensive, and environmentally unfriendly part of delivery operations.
Current urban city logistics literature often claims that rising e‐commerce and the associated courier‐, express, and parcel‐ (CEP) deliveries are inherently responsible for the increase in urban road traffic and the related congestion, disturbances, and delays within cities.
In developing economies, nano stores in urban and rural areas face different infrastructural, operational, and financial challenges. How can urban nano stores compete with supermarket chains as they enter the market? How can rural nano stores provide more services at affordable prices to sustain their operations?
The combined development of different emerging technologies (e.g. smart sensors, blockchain, artificial intelligence) boosts innovations in smart mobility. The increasing pressure on achieving societal goals within the transport sector (e.g. decarbonization, improving traffic safety, reducing congestion) will be another driver for smart mobility. TNO and CE Delft report about it.
In recent years, many meal delivery platform providers (e.g., Uber Eats, GrubHub, DoorDash, Deliveroo) with different kinds of business models have entered the markets in cities around the world. Meal delivery platforms like Uber Eats shape the landscape in cities around the world.
Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are increasingly getting attention in food systems research, owing to their rising popularity among consumers, producers, and policy-makers in the last few decades. Written with the aim to identify research gaps for the Horizon Europe research and innovation program, a new literature review provides a state of play of the definition …
Delivery vans stopping everywhere, waiting trucks, and more and more traffic in the city. Will the continuing growth of online commerce lead to congestion in cities? MRU, a consulting firm specializing in the courier, express, and parcel logistics industry, did research on behalf of the German E-Commerce and Mail Order Association (Bundesverbandes E-Commerce und Versandhandel …
Better air quality has led to a significant reduction of premature deaths over the past decade in Europe. However, the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) latest official data show that almost all Europeans still suffer from air pollution, leading to about 400,000 premature deaths across the European continent.
Drone technology is evolving at a fast pace and has increasing potential to compete with more traditional alternatives in a number of sectors beyond retail and delivery. Drone technology has uncertain potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from e-commerce and the logistics industry and concerns over increased noise pollution and threats to wildlife.
Cargo bikes are often faced with misconceptions about their potential and use for large scale logistics. Pedal Me presents their trip data in London to demonstrate the efficiency in dense urban areas and emphasizes their competitive advantage over cars and smaller vans.