Inbound Logistics | January 2025

mETRO mOVES

Urban logistics gets a bad rap because of its inherent complexity, but density brings with it many advantages. In fact, rural deliveries are signicantly more expensive than urban deliveries and offer less opportunity for growth, Goodchild notes. “Customer density is important for logistics,” she says. “That’s how you’re able to keep costs low enough that the amount customers are willing to pay covers your costs.” Still, urban logistics is not getting any simpler. The rapid rise in ecommerce during the pandemic increased the number of addresses receiving regular individual deliveries, leading to fewer packages per dropoff and heightening the complexity of urban logistics in the process, says Adam Bryant, COO of Jitsu, a last- mile delivery service provider based in Berkeley, California. Growing ecommerce also has altered trafc patterns and intensied curb demand. Growing congestion in urban areas continues to complicate deliveries. “We now have huge numbers of small delivery vans, cars, and trucks delivering more than just small packages,” says Frank Granieri, COO of supply chain solutions for A. Duie Pyle, a transportation and logistics provider based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “Customer expectations regarding delivery times have compounded these effects, as well,” he adds. “It’s difcult to get anywhere in an urban environment and not see at least one van or truck double-parked in an attempt to make a delivery. This is just one evolution among many, but it stands out due to the severity and impact of the shift.”

Thanks to the rapid rise in ecommerce, deliveries in urban areas are booming. Urban delivery drivers spend about 80% of their time outside their vehicle, navigating curbs, crowds, and challenges such as finding the right location for each individual package.

parking in general. It makes for a demanding environment and a heavy daily mental load for drivers. “One of the top stressors for urban delivery drivers is trying to gure out where to park their vehicle,” Goodchild says. “Every time they stop, they have to look around, see what’s available, and navigate that space. Parking is the primary challenge.” Parking capacity often is indicated with simple, straightforward static signage at the location, such as with paint colors on the curb. Digital solutions are available and in ongoing development, using tools such as video cameras, Bluetooth sensors, and RFID sensors. Parking lots, for instance, are sometimes able to share capacity information with arriving drivers. “Digitizing the curb” to give commercial drivers real-time parking availability and load-zone information could reduce their ‘cruising’ time by nearly 30%, according to an Urban Freight Lab study. However, the business case for cities to invest in these technologies is not clear, Goodchild explains. These technologies tend to come with high costs to install

and maintain—with damage, vandalism, and theft as ongoing concerns. In addition, “there are some practical challenges to most of these technologies—including their accuracy in varying conditions—that need to be addressed and worked through” before cities likely are ready to invest in them, she says. ‘MESSY’ CHALLENGES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FLEXIBILITY anything but efcient or straightforward. In fact, these drivers spend approximately 80% of their time outside the vehicle. “Drivers have to nd the package in the back of the truck, navigate the curb with their dolly, nd the door, get the right code or the key, take the elevator, and nd the right person to sign for the package,” Goodchild says. Trying to solve those out-of-vehicle challenges is “messy,” she adds. Precise coordination and execution Parking challenges aside, urban deliveries are still

THE NOT-SO-SIMPLE PARKING PROBLEM

For all the sophistication of the modern supply chain, the obstacle of parking scarcity in dense

cities tops the list of urban logistics challenges, according to Goodchild. Delivery drivers rarely have the luxury of a reserved parking space or ample

from multiple parties is necessary to manage congestion and parking challenges, but even then “urban

128 Inbound Logistics • January 2025