Future Directions in City Logistics

The pandemic and the climate emergency are accelerating the pace of change in city logistics, aided by technological advances, particularly associated with the internet of things and automation. The push to improve the liveability and sustainability of cities is leading to the reallocation of road space away from vehicle carriageways, parking spaces and loading bays to pedestrian precincts, cycle lanes and shared spaces, creating challenges for first and last mile pickups and deliveries. This has been exacerbated by a growth of van traffic seeking kerbside access. There is an accelerating transition to battery electric vehicles for first and last mile logistics as they are zero emission at the point of use, suitable for slow movement and quiet in operation. For the middle mile, there is a role for hydrogen or hybrid hydrogen/battery electric vehicles. The growth of e-commerce is driving the evolution of omnichannel retail, with the integration of conventional and e-commerce channels, the growth of click and collect services, the doubling up of stores as order picking centres and the increasing use of smart lockers. The drive to make cities more sustainable is directing attention to making the urban economy more circular to reduce both the consumption of finite natural resources and the amount of waste heading for landfill, increasing the importance of reverse logistics. Finally, the proliferation of data associated with supply chains is leading to new and larger cyber vulnerabilities, which can be countered by blockchain technology.