by Walther Ploos van Amstel
A study in Transportation Research Procedia deserves the attention of every e-commerce and parcel logistics executive currently being pitched “AI-powered presence prediction” as the next big efficiency lever. Based on interviews with twelve senior industry practitioners, the German research team delivers a much-needed reality check on a body of mathematical modeling literature that has promised …
City halls love to talk about parcels. The white delivery van has become the poster child of urban freight policy: hubs for e-commerce, regulation for e-commerce, working groups on e-commerce. Research from José Holguín-Veras and colleagues (City Logistics 2025, Boston) suggests we may be aiming at the wrong target. The researchers compared business-to-business (B2B) and …
Where shoppers once had to find a website, search it, and click through endless steps before ordering, social media like TikTok and AI are now taking over. Browse any trade journal, and you will find the same starting point again and again: how do we organize parcel delivery to keep pace with the slower e-commerce …
PostNL’s first-quarter 2026 figures are a wake-up call for everyone in e-commerce. Parcel volumes fell 7.1%. This is the new reality. The party is over. The years of double-digit e-commerce growth are behind us for the most part — yet the sector is still deep in denial. Five years have passed since the Covid boom …
Les Echos writes: “Amazon, Shein et les autres… Les livraisons de colis représentent déjà 20 % du trafic routier en Ile-de-France”. True or fake news? A new research note from L’Institut Paris Region puts a striking number on a trend most of us feel intuitively: 315 million parcels were delivered in Île-de-France in 2025, the result of …
In his 2026 opinion article in Frontiers in Sustainability, Gilles A. Pache challenges the dominant narrative that e-commerce is inherently less sustainable than brick-and-mortar retail. He argues that environmental performance depends far more on logistics system design than on the retail channel itself. The key determinants are consolidation intensity, routing optimization, fleet composition, demand stability, …
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 rapid growth of e-commerce has transformed urban logistics, raising concerns about congestion, pollution, and the impact of delivery vehicles on city life. Some argue that home deliveries are overwhelming our streets and that pick-up points and cargo bikes are the ultimate solution. However, the reality is far more nuanced. Home delivery myths : One-size-fits-small? from …
In collaboration with C Space, FedEx Corporation has released its annual FedEx 2025 E-Commerce Trends to Watch Report, offering key insights into evolving consumer expectations. As digital marketplaces become more competitive, businesses prioritizing convenience, effortless returns, and personalized engagement will foster customer loyalty and long-term success in the US Market. Convenience and Enhanced Post-Purchase Experience Take Center Stage …
E-commerce has become an integral part of daily life for many consumers, with both purchase frequency and expenditure witnessing remarkable increases in recent years. A recent Belgian study highlights a notable transition from less frequent purchases (every 3 to 6 months and every 6 to 12 months) to more frequent ones (monthly and weekly). This …