Urban logistics: new delivery methods
- March 19, 2025
- 5 mins
With exploding parcel volumes, city center congestion, increasingly strict regulations, and heightened environmental concerns, new urban logistics challenges are forcing carriers to rethink their delivery methods.
More and more parcels are being delivered in urban areas: deliveries alone account for over 57% of goods movements in Paris. In total, 200,000 parcels from online purchases are delivered to Parisian households each day. For comparison, Shanghai sees over one million parcels delivered daily, and New York over 1.5 million.
Urban logistics challenges
As urban logistics grows, it faces various issues:
Urban areas are becoming increasingly congested
By 2050, over 66% of the global population will live in cities, according to the UN (up from 56% in 2019). This rise in urban density also means more vehicles: The Future of the Last-Mile Ecosystem study (2020) projects a 36% increase in vehicle numbers by 2030 in the top 100 global cities if no action is taken to streamline urban logistics.
This scenario could lead to a 21% increase in average travel time (due to last-mile delivery alone), equating to an additional 11 minutes of daily travel per passenger. This trend is already evident in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Beijing, and New York, where travel times have increased by 20 to 35% since 2010.
Mobility in cities is becoming increasingly difficult with the rise in vehicles and the allocation of road space to bikes and public transport. Traffic jams are common, complicating the work of transporters who waste valuable time on delivery routes.
Finding parking has become a major headache in cities
With the increasing number of vehicles, it is now challenging to secure a parking spot. This issue is exacerbated for delivery drivers who use larger vehicles compared to regular cars. Often, they are forced to park wherever they can, sometimes blocking roads or sidewalks—up to 80% of deliveries occur with illegal parking.
This pressure leads to quick, sometimes rushed deliveries, which can negatively impact service quality and customer satisfaction.
Consumer demands are growing increasingly stringent
Today, customers expect faster, more flexible, and cost-effective delivery options. Delivery times are shrinking (with some providers promising delivery within an hour), and time slots are becoming more precise (e.g., 2-hour windows). Customers want to know—and choose—the exact time of their delivery. They also expect real-time tracking, including notifications via email or SMS to alert them of any delays.
Additionally, delivery locations are diversifying, adding complexity to logistics. Consumers can now choose to have their packages delivered to their home, a pickup point, a locker, or even a postal office, further challenging the efficiency of delivery services.
The high costs of last-mile delivery
The last mile is the most expensive stage in the supply chain, accounting for 20% of total costs. In urban areas, where deliveries are more complex, it’s challenging to offset these costs. With 82.6% of deliveries being made to recipients’ homes, last-mile costs remain high. In contrast, delivery to pickup points is more economical for carriers, as it reduces the number of stops: an average of 15 stops for pickup points compared to 50 for home deliveries.
The environmental impact of transportation remains significant
Freight transport accounts for around 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas (source: Ademe). In Paris, it generates 25% of CO2 emissions, 35% to 45% of nitrogen oxides, and 45% of fine particulate matter. The carbon footprint of logistics vehicles remains significant.
This impact intensifies with the increasing number of vehicles on the road. While large trucks are often seen as major polluters, they are relatively rare in cities. Instead, over 65% of urban freight vehicles are small vans and trucks. It takes 8 small vehicles to carry the same load as a single large truck, resulting in a massive increase in both miles traveled and emissions. To align with environmental concerns, transporters must rethink their processes and strive for greener logistics solutions.
Innovations in urban delivery
Collaborative delivery
To support professionals, crowd logistics allows individuals to optimize their own logistical resources (such as their vehicle) to provide services and earn money. Specifically, crowdshipping comes into play during the transportation phase: moving goods from a distribution point or a pickup location to the final recipient’s home. Numerous platforms have emerged to connect individuals, such as Cocolis, Yper, Shopopop, and MyBoxMan in France, and Postmates or Instacart in the US.
Collaborative delivery often tackles the complex last mile, which is challenging for traditional carriers. While it may pose a threat due to lower delivery costs for consumers, it can also inspire new business opportunities. For example, DHL tested this model in Stockholm (Sweden) in 2013 through the MyWays platform.
Automatic parcel lockers
You might have seen parcel lockers in hotels, train stations, or airports. This concept has also been adapted for temporarily storing parcels awaiting delivery. This alternative to home delivery allows customers to retrieve their parcels from a secure locker using a unique code, whenever they choose.
Automatic parcel lockers offer several advantages:
- Fewer stops for couriers: Similar to delivery to a pickup point, couriers make fewer stops per route, reducing their environmental impact.
- Reduced traffic congestion: Parcel lockers could potentially decrease traffic congestion by 5 to 18% (depending on the scenarios considered).
- Lower delivery costs: Delivery costs could also be reduced by 2 to 12%.
An increasing number of carriers are adopting automatic parcel lockers: Amazon with its Amazon Lockers, La Poste with its Pickup service, and InPost with its Abricolis are just a few examples.
Greener vehicles
Despite the high CO2 emissions associated with their production (30% higher than for internal combustion vehicles), electric vehicles (EVs) have a better overall carbon footprint. An online tool developed by the European Federation for Transport and Environment helps measure CO2 emissions:
- In the worst-case scenario: (Battery produced in China and vehicle used in Poland, where the electricity mix is among the most polluting in Europe), an electric vehicle generates 22% less CO2 than a diesel car and 29% less than a gasoline car over its lifetime.
- In the best-case scenario: (Battery produced and vehicle used in Sweden, where electricity is 67.5% renewable), an electric vehicle emits 79% less CO2 than an internal combustion engine vehicle!
- In France, CO2 emissions from gasoline vehicles are 77% higher than those from electric vehicles, and across the European Union, the difference is 63%.
Cities are implementing regulations to encourage carriers to adapt their fleets, such as low-emission zones (LEZs), reserved parking spaces for electric vehicles, and mandatory reporting of vehicle emissions. Many carriers have already started investing in green fleets:
- Chronopost operates more than 770 low-emission vehicles (electric, CNG, and cargo bikes) in France, enabling 100% “decarbonized” deliveries in 41 French cities, including Paris.
- DHL Express France aims to conduct 75% of its first and last-mile deliveries with electric vehicles by 2025. Currently, 25% of its fleet (300 vehicles) will be electric by the end of 2022.
- DPD has already deployed 2,500 electric vehicles in the UK and aims to introduce a “zero-emission” fleet in 225 European cities before 2025.
- Canada Post plans to convert its entire fleet (14,000 vehicles) to electric by 2040, with half of this transition expected by 2030.
Cyclo-lgistics
In urban environments, bicycles are the most eco-friendly mode of transport. Various types of bicycles are tailored for urban deliveries:
Cargo bikes: Biporteurs and triporteurs with two or three wheels are designed for small to medium loads (typically up to 80-100 kg). These bikes have integrated cargo compartments at the front or rear. Many startups have entered this growing market, including Diligo, Triporteurs de l’Ouest, and La Petite Reine.
Bike trailers: These are designed for heavier loads (up to 350 kg). The startup K-Ryole is a leading innovator in this field with its intelligent electric assistance system that adjusts to the cyclist’s movements and road conditions (such as inclines and turns). The carrier Stuart utilizes K-Ryole’s trailers for urban deliveries.
Most of these bikes are electric to provide added comfort for riders and handle heavy loads efficiently.
Advantages of cyclo-Logistics:
- Cost reduction: Lower costs compared to motorized vehicles, including savings on fuel and reduced acquisition and maintenance expenses.
- Less time in traffic: Easier navigation through traffic jams due to bike lanes and bus corridors.
- Easier parking: Average parking time is just 8 seconds for couriers from Diligo.
- Improved delivery times: Electric cargo bikes deliver 60% faster in city centers compared to vans (University of Westminster study).
- More efficient routes: Cyclo-logistics improves delivery efficiency by over 30% in dense areas.
- Reduced environmental impact: Electric cargo bike riders emit 90% less CO2 than those using diesel vans.
- Decreased noise pollution: Lower levels of noise from honking, engine revving, and tire screeching.
Robotized delivery
New technologies are transforming logistics processes, with robotics gradually entering the last-mile delivery segment through autonomous vehicles and drones. Leveraging Artificial Intelligence, shuttles, buses, and trucks can now deliver packages completely autonomously, without human intervention.
For instance, the American startup Nuro has developed autonomous vehicles capable of carrying 760 dm³ of goods—equivalent to the capacity of a large SUV—and supporting up to 225 kg. These vehicles operate exclusively on 100% renewable electricity, significantly reducing their environmental impact.
Robotized delivery is increasingly being tested for transporting food products. For instance, in the United States, Walmart has been using Nuro’s robots to deliver groceries since 2020, while Uber Eats has been testing robots from Serve Robotics and Motional for meal deliveries in Los Angeles since 2022.
Drones are also becoming a more common delivery method. In 2016, Amazon made its first drone delivery directly to a customer’s garden in the UK. With its “Amazon Prime Air” program, the American giant aims to deliver products within just 30 minutes.
Robotized delivery offers several advantages:
- Addressing labor shortages: It helps fill gaps in specialized labor.
- Reducing environmental impact: Operating on electricity—sometimes 100% renewable—autonomous vehicles and drones emit less CO2 and help alleviate road congestion.
- Enhancing rural accessibility: Drones are used to deliver parcels to remote rural areas. For example, DPD France tested drones in Mont-Saint-Martin, achieving a delivery time of 8 minutes per drone compared to the usual 30 minutes by car.
However, widespread adoption of robotized delivery is still pending. Urban air transport regulations remain very restrictive, and technological advancements are needed to enhance the reliability, autonomy, and precision of these devices.
The urban logistics sector is rapidly evolving to meet the new consumer demands for faster, more flexible, personalized, and eco-friendly delivery options. Collaborative delivery, automated lockers, electric vehicles, cycle logistics, and robotized delivery are all emerging solutions with promising futures.
