A paper by Marcel Huschebeck, Jacques Leonardi looks at the new city logistics business model of Delivery as a Service, a concept aiming at a more efficient, fast, and customer-oriented practice, linking IT solutions development, urban logistics operations, supply chain efficiency and new business models.
Delivery as a Service (DaaS) is defined as a service-oriented delivery and business processes in line with customer expectations and needs in the on-demand economy. The approach of this paper is an industry report based on evidence collected in multiple exploratory European projects integrating ambitious and strategic findings on the Internet of Things, urban planning, consolidation centers, transport optimization, and clean vehicle use. It contributes to a future scenario of urban logistics business models.
DaaS seems to be a visionary but realistic scenario, compatible with the most recent developments in city-logistics
and Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan, linking the business world with the urban policymakers and the research community. Relying on co-operation, there are parallels with earlier approaches such as co-operative distribution or urban consolidation centers. IT solutions providing trusted environments and connectivity can be a game-changer and pave the way to success for DaaS.
The big tech companies, however, have not identified logistics as its core competence and might not provide a global, universal platform for urban freight. This gap can be filled by cities and OEMs that might identify the city goods mobility service as a future business model.
