Newsletter from November 2023
InterLog: sustainable and efficient parcel deliveries
Current parcel deliveries in cities like Munich take up too much space, take too much time and are not sustainable due to their high emissions.
This raises the question of how parcels can be delivered more efficiently on the urban last mile, especially against the backdrop of increasing urban densification and the goal of CO2 neutrality.
As part of the MCube project, InterLog is investigating the extent to which concepts such as parcel stations or distribution by means of cargo bikes can play a central role here and improve the delivery of parcels.
With parcel stations, delivery is decentralized: customers pick up their parcels directly, which reduces direct trips by delivery vehicles to the front door. In the case of delivery via cargo bikes, parcels are distributed from delivery vehicles to cargo bikes in small distribution centers within the city - so-called micro-depots - and then delivered with these.
Will such options make delivery faster, more flexible and more sustainable than direct delivery with large delivery vehicles?
To answer these questions, our first step is to develop various business models for the different options. In a simulation environment, we are investigating whether, for example, parcel delivery via cargo bikes can be profitable for logistics companies or where improvements are still needed.
Based on this, we are developing a detailed and efficient algorithm to identify the optimal locations of micro-depots and the routes of the cargo bikes from these depots to the delivery point.
We also take a detailed look at the micro-depots: How should the processes here be designed? How big do the depots need to be and what layout should be used?
Finally, we are building a test micro-depot in Munich to measure the speed, flexibility and emissions of parcel delivery.
Our aim here is to show what the urban logistics of the future can and should look like: decentralized, space-saving and sustainable through the use of parcel stations and cargo bikes instead of large delivery vehicles.
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