Can members of the urban logistics chain develop a new “smart city” concept?
Urban logistics is a complex ecosystem, and it is often difficult to reconcile the diverging interests of individual stakeholders within this ecosystem. Many of these stakeholders view environmental protection and profitability as contradictory aims, and are unable to accommodate the diverging demands placed upon them by multiple deliveries and urban traffic problems. What’s more, end recipients unfortunately see an inextricable link between transport speed and cost. How, then, do we move toward a truly robust and perfectly efficient urban logistics system? Both city councils and intermunicipal authorities are starting to take this issue seriously, despite the administrative – and even political – problems inherent to this type of project. At the same time, an increasing number of logistics service providers are taking their own initiatives, seeking to accommodate the needs of both “final mile” logistics and urban quality of life.

A new approach to city-centre deliveries
While this may seem like a complex issue to resolve, the solution is within reach. The answer is to establish effective organisation and communication between stakeholders, via high-performance information systems. There are numerous innovative examples of this type of approach… and these examples will become the standards of the future.