The\nnext time you order a sweater it could arrive at your doorstep with help from a\nnew \u201cwarehouse on wheels\u201d \u2013 currently being trialled in London \u2013 that has the\npotential to help cut traffic, reduce emissions, and improve delivery times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From groceries to fashion, the growth in online shopping across Europe means the number of parcel deliveries is expected to double in the next ten years. Most of these deliveries are fulfilled by vans, leading to escalating congestion in many cities with average journey times in London having risen by more than 40 per cent in just three years. As a result, carriers are under increasing pressure to deliver more parcels, more quickly, with less cost, while continuing to ensure employee welfare and environmental responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now,\na new digital delivery service being trialled by Ford in partnership with Gnewt\nby Menzies Distribution will efficiently coordinate multiple modes of transport\nincluding pedestrian and \u2013 one day \u2013 bicycle couriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During\nthe trial, Gnewt\u2019s \u201clast\u2011mile\u201d delivery service will be driven by Ford\u2019s\nintelligent cloud\u2011based, multi\u2011modal routing and\nlogistics software MoDe:Link, that manages all aspects of parcel delivery from\ndepot to doorstep. This could help couriers, fleet managers, logistics and food\ndelivery companies optimise processes and increase van utilisation, saving time\nand money while boosting capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nservice could also improve customer experience by offering improved delivery\nwindows and reducing costs, speeding time from order to delivery by enabling\nvans to make more frequent round trips back to the depot. In addition, it could\ncontribute to healthier streets and reduced traffic in major cities, cutting congestion\naround valuable kerb space where vans typically load and unload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur\ngoal is to keep larger vehicles like delivery vans operating in the high\u2011load,\nless\u2011congested environments in which they perform\nbest,\u201d said Tom Thompson, project lead, Ford Mobility. \u201cHowever, for the last\nmile of a journey into an urban area, where congestion and lack of parking can\nbe a challenge, it makes sense to offload deliveries to more nimble, efficient\nand cost\u2011effective modes of transport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ford\nis committed to tackling urban mobility challenges, in particular the\ndeliveries of goods and services, through innovation, technology and\npartnerships. The \u201cwarehouse on wheels\u201d concept is designed to be compatible\nboth with Ford vans and those of other manufacturers. These vans then act as\ndynamic delivery hubs that collect orders from a depot and then briefly stop at\nstrategic locations determined to be the most efficient for each batch of\norders. Ford\u2019s proprietary software platform coordinates with nearby foot couriers\n\u2013 or potentially with bicycle couriers, drones and autonomous robots in the\nfuture \u2013 to fulfil the last leg of each delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multi\u2011modal deliveries like these have the potential to be faster, cheaper and offer greater capacity than van\u2011only deliveries. Ford estimates that one van and a team of four couriers on foot or bicycle could be used to deliver the same number of parcels as five individual vans when working as part of a multi\u2011modal network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For\nthe London trial Ford is partnering with Gnewt, a sustainable urban parcel delivery\nservice and winner of the 2018 U.K. Sustainable Logistics Company of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gnewt\noperates the largest fully electric delivery fleet in the UK with more than 70\nelectric vans and has pioneered sustainable last\u2011mile delivery services,\nworking with leading retailers, e\u2011commerce companies and\nlogistics firms to deliver three million parcels a year to consumers and\nbusinesses in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working with Transport for London and with several universities as part of the FTC2050 research project, Gnewt has been trailing urban portering services to measure the impact of this new approach as a model for reducing the number of vans needed to fulfil deliveries and cut emissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nwant to change the way we think about moving goods around our cities,\u201d said Sam\nClarke, founder and head of business development, Gnewt. \u201cWe are keen to understand\nhow multi\u2011modal deliveries can benefit our business, our\ncustomers, and \u2013 by promoting active travel and the associated health and\nenvironmental benefits of walking and cycling \u2013 our employees too. We are\ndelighted to be working with Ford and helping to trial its revolutionary new\nsoftware solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.K. Government has also recognised the need to develop smarter delivery solutions for urban areas, launching an open consultation to further explore last\u2011mile deliveries and the opportunities available to deliver goods more sustainably. The call for evidence, to which Ford has responded, seeks to examine the environmental benefits of micro\u2011vehicles, e\u2011cargo bikes, and measures to improve logistical efficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFreight\nand deliveries are central to supporting London\u2019s economy, with half of the\nvalue of the capital\u2019s household expenditure relying on it,\u201d said Michael\nHurwitz, director of transport innovation, Transport for London. \u201cHowever,\ncongestion and poor air quality are some of the biggest challenges the city\nfaces. More last\u2011mile deliveries made in this way, alongside the\ngrowth of micro\u2011consolidation centres, are essential to tackle\nthe pollution problem and keeping the roads moving. Ford\u2019s harnessing of\ntechnology to change the model for supplying homes and businesses should be\napplauded and is an example for others in the sector to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building\non the company\u2019s success as the top\u2011selling commercial\nvehicle brand in Europe, the London trial is one of several initiatives in\nwhich Ford is looking to address delivery and urban mobility challenges in the\ncity of tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nthe U.K., Ford is working with Transport for London on a multi\u2011million\u2011pound\nproject to trial 20 plug\u2011in hybrid Transit vans that run solely on\nelectric power for most city trips. The trial is being extended to the City of\nValencia, Spain and Cologne, Germany this year. In the U.S., Ford continues to innovate in urban goods and service deliveries as it\nprepares for a future with self\u2011driving vehicles. Ford has teamed up with Postmates, an on\u2011demand delivery platform in Miami and Miami\nBeach to operate a self-driving delivery service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The next time you order a sweater it could arrive at your doorstep with help from a new \u201cwarehouse on wheels\u201d \u2013 currently being trialled in London \u2013 that has the potential to help cut traffic, reduce emissions, and improve delivery times. From groceries to fashion, the growth in online shopping across Europe means the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ford-news","tag-ford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.platts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}