Achieving More Efficient (and Eco-Friendly) Last-Mile Deliveries: Confronting the Obstacle
In the rapidly evolving world of commerce, online retailers and companies like Uber have ventured into the logistics market, aiming to streamline the movement of goods in cities. This shift towards efficient city logistics is crucial, as it accounts for 20-30% of city traffic and contributes significantly to emissions and noise pollution.
The "last mile" of delivery, the final step from a distribution center or warehouse to the recipient, is often the focus of urban freight debates due to customer fragmentation and inefficiency. To address these challenges, cities are embracing smart delivery infrastructure with micro-hubs close to urban centers, adopting electric and small delivery vehicles, and implementing advanced route optimization and AI-driven fleet management.
One key strategy is establishing micro-distribution hubs or micro-hubs near or within city centers. By reducing delivery distances and times, this approach decreases traffic from long-haul deliveries entering congested urban areas. Smaller, greener vehicles such as electric vans, cargo bikes, or specialized urban delivery vehicles like Honda’s quadricycle-based Fastport are also being used. These vehicles are designed to operate in bike lanes and reduce emissions and congestion compared to traditional trucks.
Route optimization software and AI-driven carrier allocation are being implemented to create multi-stop routes that minimize dead miles and avoid congested roads, thereby improving fleet efficiency. Encouraging scheduled delivery time slots consolidates orders geographically, reducing the number of individual trips and lowering traffic volume and emissions.
Providing alternative delivery options such as secure lockers and pickup points reduces failed deliveries and repeat trips that add to congestion. Leveraging real-time tracking and communication technologies improves delivery transparency and responsiveness, enabling better traffic management and reducing time spent by vehicles stalled in traffic or searching for delivery points.
Introducing electric vehicles (EVs) and supporting incentives that reduce environmental impact and noise are also important steps. As the global parcel volume surpassed 100 billion for the first time in 2019, cities and governments need to take responsibility and become facilitators of the transition towards zero-emission vehicle fleets. Regulations such as low- or zero-emission zones, limited access times, electronic access control, or road-pricing schemes are being implemented to meet national emission reduction targets.
Collaboration among logistics players is key to making last mile delivery more efficient. By working together, they can optimize routes, share resources, and reduce the overall environmental footprint of urban deliveries. As the e-commerce sector continues to grow, even during challenging times like the coronavirus outbreak, it is essential to implement these strategies to ensure sustainable and efficient city logistics.
References:
- Smart Freight Centre. (2020). Last Mile Delivery. Retrieved from https://www.smartfreightcentre.org/our-work/last-mile-delivery/
- Urban Freight Lab. (2020). Urban Freight Solutions. Retrieved from https://urbanfreightlab.org/solutions/
- World Resources Institute. (2020). Delivering Urban Freight. Retrieved from https://www.wri.org/resources/delivering-urban-freight
- Transport & Environment. (2020). Delivering on the Last Mile. Retrieved from https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/Delivering_on_the_Last_Mile_Final.pdf
- Honda. (2020). Fastport. Retrieved from https://world.honda.com/newsroom/stories/2017/0719-fastport/
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