Smarter Logistics for a Smart City

How can smarter logistics balance the demands of growing e-commerce with the environmental ambitions of a Smart City?

Global transportation company FedEx, EIT Climate-KIC, Nordic Edge and Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA) are launching an open innovation call to determine how urban logistics can better support the sustainability goals of a smart city.

Background

Nordic cities are among the most progressive and ambitious cities in the world when it comes to environmental and sustainability targets, and a great deal of progress has already been made. However, it’s widely agreed that more must be done in order to make the changes necessary to deliver on our collective environmental ambitions.

A lot of attention is currently being paid to mobility – the sustainable and environmentally friendly movement of people through cities. Both large and small businesses are already identifying opportunities for innovation around the concept of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS).

Equally important is the movement of the goods that keep the city running, the shops in stock, supply chains moving, and positively supports business growth.

With the number of people living in cities globally estimated to exceed 80% by 2050, and the continued growth of e-commerce, the demand for delivery to businesses and individuals in cities will only increase in the years to come.

To balance the increase in demand for urban deliveries, and to ensure that our cities continue to benefit from a flourishing e-commerce market, how can urban logistics become smarter while contributing to reach environmental targets?

City logistics initiatives have sprung up in cities all over Europe, typically independently of one another, and with varying success. Most capitals have already implemented initiatives such as reduced public parking, stricter or zero emissions zones on select streets, toll roads and congestion zones, with others committing to pilots of consolidation centres outside city centres and trials of off-hour delivery to businesses and shops.

Some cities are moreover requesting that their environmental targets be taken into consideration during procurement tenders – a proactive step attempting to focus the attention of the market.

Globally operating transportation companies like FedEx Express are eager to identify and implement sustainable solutions that are viable not only to the suppliers and the city, but for its businesses and its citizens.

An open dialogue and a collaborative approach to inner-city logistics is helpful. Through the collaboration of both public and private sector, and the engagement of citizens towards end solutions that benefit all parties, we have an opportunity to introduce small, or indeed, seismic shifts in how deliveries are made in the future Smart City.

Thus, FedEx Express, in collaboration with Climate-KIC, smart city non-profit Nordic Edge, and DOGA Norway, now invites proposals suggesting how urban logistics may be reimagined to better support the goals of a Smart City.