E-commerce for groceries continues to grow, and there is potential to streamline last-mile delivery to customers. Against this backdrop, VTI (the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute) and Chalmers Industriteknik have launched a preliminary study to develop logistics solutions that can make last-mile deliveries more energy-efficient. The study is intended to generate new knowledge regarding various logistics solutions that enable cost and transportation efficiency while maintaining a sufficiently high level of service for customers.
Online grocery shopping currently accounts for only a small portion of Sweden’s total food supply, but it is growing rapidly. A recently completed research project led by VTI found that e-commerce offers opportunities to reduce transportation and that there are currently significant opportunities to develop long-term sustainable solutions. Above all, there is significant potential for improving energy efficiency in last-mile deliveries—that is, the final leg of the journey to the customer—including through collaboration among various stakeholders. The last leg of the journey is often the most expensive part of the distribution chain and has the greatest environmental impact.
“To achieve greater energy efficiency in last-mile transportation, we need to create the conditions for higher load factors and greater economies of scale,” says Linea Kjellsdotter Ivert, a researcher at VTI and project manager of the feasibility study.
– There are several ways to achieve this, but different logistics solutions involve different conflicting objectives and vary in terms of how difficult they are to implement. This means that logistics solutions will most likely vary depending on consumer demand and the conditions in the region where e-commerce is offered.
In addition to identifying and further developing logistics solutions, the project will identify which stakeholders need to be involved in implementing various logistics solutions and who should be responsible for what. In addition, the researchers will evaluate the expected impact of various logistics solutions and identify those with the greatest potential for further development in future research.
The project, known as “Energy-Efficient Distribution of Groceries through New Collaboration Models” (ELLA), will run through August 31, 2021, and is funded by the Swedish Transport Administration. Photo: VTI / Hejdlösa Bilder
