The future of last mile deliveries will be shaped by at least three trends:
Mobile depot hubs, AI in logistics and drones.
Mobile depot hubs contribute to less congestion as well as cleaner and safer cities while AI in logistics will help optimize route planning and
enable intelligent caravanning. Drones, which aren't confined by any physical infrastructure, will be able to perform precise deliveries with less costs. But circumstances today such as customer expectations versus what they're willing to pay along with infrastructure and regulative issues makes it somewhat hard to fully utilize these trends.
What would be needed is strenghtened collaboration between companies, and between public institutions and private companies, heavier investments in infrastructure and even more focus on technical elaboration and innovation to enable sustainable last mile deliveries.
The online retail market has grown fast during the last couple of years and a majority of the Nordic consumers turn to online shopping each month. This change in shopping behavior leads to heavier emphasis on last mile deliveries which cause negative environmental impact. The last mile is on top of that, deemed as the least efficient part of the delivery chain.
Read more in our white paper The Green Last Mile and gain industry insights.
By Jesper Ankeraa, Josefine Sojde, Rickard Merino
