Urban Logistics Convention 2017

Customers increasingly expect faster delivery which is leading to more fragmented flows. New solutions must be identified to limit the impact on the urban environment

Although logistics has its costs, the majority of customers expect free delivery, and retailers act on it: More than half of orders now include free delivery. This offer seems to be essential to enable the players gaining market share.

Even if the share of e-commerce in urban traffic is marginal, a contagion effect on B2B, which constitutes the bulk of flows, is very likely. Thus, although freight transport is not the main cause of urban congestion, the search for solutions to manage the fragmentation and growth of traffic flows is essential.

New economically viable cooperative models need to be defined. Greater interoperability between actors has to be encouraged

Finding urban logistics solutions that maximize efficiency while minimizing adverse environmental and social impact in ever-denser cities is a collective challenge. New models of cooperation must be defined while maintaining a fair competitive environment; projects and pilots must succeed in bringing together the know-how and resources of researchers, local authorities, shippers and transport operators to achieve economically viable initiatives. Otherwise, the vast majority of initiatives are doomed to failure. In the long term, greater interoperability between players should facilitate this collaboration by reducing interface costs. The "physical internet" could be a good source of inspiration.

Open systems for urban logistics data collection should enable governments to better guide their initiatives

Every city needs its own logistics approach: While best practices can be transferred, solutions for the logistical configuration have to be defined on a case-by-case basis. In addition to regulatory frameworks, governments have been creative in combining calls for projects, e.g. in the context of public procurement, provision of consolidation infrastructure, or dynamic allocation of loading zones. Beyond these initiatives, governments must anticipate and develop a thorough understanding of the often contradictory objectives and future expectations of stakeholders in order to make the best decisions for the city. To this end, it is essential to set up systems for collecting and sharing data on urban logistics. The vast majority of these systems do not exist today.

Faced with the increased scarcity of urban logistics real estate, future infrastructure will have to be more creative

After a period where warehouses have moved away from city centers, they now seem to come back downtown in order to meet the demands of speed and service. Faced with the scarcity of logistical real estate near the centers, new solutions will have to be thought of to compress space (by automation for example) or to provide more vertical warehouses (similar to the warehouses of Asian megacities). The use of multipurpose infrastructure (logistics and urban agriculture, logistics and housing) is also being considered by the largest developers.

Technological innovation will increase productivity– but it will not be enough to build new, disruptive logistic models. A European interoperability standard is needed

Innovations like drones, robots, digital platforms, or IoT that essentially aim at optimizing the existing systems will probably just absorb the growth, or even reduce unit costs at best. The great technological achievements can, however, be a source of inspiration for finding new models of collaboration such as that of the blockchain. A reliable model, traceable, but respecting confidentiality, decentralized, but organized, at a lower marginal cost and infinitely re-dimensionable. Whatever the technical solution adopted will be, it seems essential to work on the definition of European interoperability standards – so not to be imposed otherwise.