by Walther Ploos van Amstel
E-commerce and new delivery trends are reshaping how our streets are used — and how they feel. Delivery vans, cargo bikes, and couriers now compete for curb space that was once reserved for pedestrians, cyclists, and social life. The rise of last-mile logistics is no longer just a transport or technical challenge; it’s an urban …
The electrification of logistics fleets is entering a new phase. DHL Group’s Post & Parcel Germany division, together with its e-vehicle subsidiary StreetScooter and engineering partner IAV, has completed the rollout of an intelligent charging and load management system for 35,000 electric vehicles across Germany. What started as a pilot with 600 vehicles has now …
The linear “take-make-waste” model of the textile sector is increasingly recognised as unsustainable. In response, a new paper addresses the first-mile logistics of post-consumer textile (PCT) collection as a critical yet under-studied part of closing the loop. Their work focuses on the strategic assessment of collection value chains: how textiles, once discarded by consumers, are …
Amazon has announced plans to invest more than €1.4 billion in the Netherlands between 2025 and 2027 — its most significant commitment since launching Amazon.nl in 2020. The move signals a substantial acceleration of the company’s ambitions in both retail and cloud services across the Dutch market. The investment will strengthen Amazon’s retail network by …
Ahold Delhaize’s omnichannel strategy continues to deliver: six consecutive quarters of double-digit online growth. Ahold Delhaize’s latest quarterly results confirm what many in the retail industry already sensed: the company’s omnichannel ecosystem is hitting its stride. With online grocery sales up 15.4% in the U.S. and 11.9% in Europe, the group has now achieved six …
The Seattle SMART project, led by the University of Washington’s Urban Freight Lab and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), examines how digital technologies can enhance the efficiency of the “last mile” of urban deliveries. Funded under the US Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) program, the project explored how curbside space …
Europe’s transport transition is accelerating, and research shows that the next wave of innovation will depend less on single technologies and more on how digital, sustainable, and social dimensions of mobility come together. A new Joint Research Centre (JRC) report maps 247 EU-funded research and innovation projects in the field of smart mobility, representing more …
“Why has it suddenly become so expensive?” a long-term customer asked last week when the account manager explained that the company would soon start driving electric trucks. That is a fair question. Anyone looking only at the price tag will be shocked: electric trucks are more expensive to purchase, charging infrastructure adds costs, and planning …
The last mile of parcel delivery – the movement from local depots to consumers – is becoming one of the biggest challenges in urban logistics. With booming e-commerce and fast delivery expectations, this stage is both the most costly and the most polluting part of the supply chain. Last-mile operations can account for more than …
Urban freight distribution has become one of the toughest sustainability challenges for modern cities. In a new study published in Transportation Research Part D, Jiménez and colleagues analyse how different distribution strategies influence operational efficiency and environmental impact of city logistics. Their goal is clear: to quantify how choices about vehicle deployment, routing, and consolidation …