Autonomous urban logistics vehicles & robots, the race is on!
Last mile delivery is a sensitive point in the logistics chain. Tension is increasing around this last link, the implementation of which is at the crossroads of several issues: significant increase in the volume of e-commerce delivery, tightening of environmental regulations in urban areas, availability, cost and reliability of human operators, delivery times on D, D+1,+2, economic pressure from distributors on delivery costs, etc.
Continuing with autonomous vehicles for individuals, technological developments have not escaped the logistics sector, which has seen the development of numerous electric, robotic and autonomous delivery projects, particularly in the United States and Asia (JD.com , Dominos' Pizzas, Just Eat…)
Thus, by combining “good-to-person” warehouse solutions, AI-based operations optimization software and autonomous delivery solutions (helicopters, flying drones, trucks, vans, and robots/ droids) the sector seeks to optimize the set of constraints to meet a growing need for delivery at the best cost and within realistic service commitments (SLA).
Delivery by autonomous vehicles and robots is one of the solutions to meet the challenges of delivery in urban space. A 2018 Mc Kinsey study predicts that autonomous vehicles could operate 80% deliveries in around ten years, in a global last-mile market estimated at 70 B$…
In order to realize the economic and service potential of this technological opportunity, it will be necessary to address numerous associated political, social, economic and technical issues which will modify the organization of the last mile logistics value chain.
An evolving value chain
The implementation of these new logistics means induces modifications to the value chain, a reorganization of processes with IT and human impacts.
Thus, it will be necessary to integrate these new vehicles into the allocation of packages to be delivered according to specific criteria, the proof of delivery will be done digitally with the opening of a locker by pin-code which will issue an email of notice of receipt, the work of delivery people will migrate from the transport function to the service function. Having become acrobats, they will go to the meeting points of robots and traders to help unload, tidy up, offer, sell new services, while the robot goes on another errand or goes to pick up another pallet from the warehouse...etc.
Reduced or gotten rid of the transport part, personnel management will be more optimized and the latter can be assigned to tasks with higher added value.
Opportunities are soon to be seized in Europe by players in the logistics sector before it is too late!
Digitalization, robotization, AI and autonomous vehicle driving are major factors structuring the logistics chain of today and tomorrow.
One of the risks for Europe is to see itself left behind by American and Asian players in autonomous, fast, flexible and low-cost logistics solutions which will be the crux of the matter in meeting customer delivery requirements.
The e-commerce giants are developing their solutions and it is unlikely that they will share them with their European competitors. Their technological advancement and business experience will make it very difficult, or very expensive, to compete with them from 2022/2024, which is why it is imperative that European logistics players start to prepare and invest now to explore and build their autonomous logistics solutions of tomorrow.
Thus, the company LMAD (Last Mile Autonomous Delivery), resulting from a European project by EIT Digital, is developing this expertise, a platform and a vision of the market centered on use rather than around an autonomous navigation solution.
It can be rationally envisaged that in the long term, the value will reside in the optimal implementation of a service integrating information system, processes, change management, relationship with public authorities, integration and management of a fleet of robots , rather than in the supply of autonomous cars or robots.
Thus LMAD builds and operates a multi-use case and multi-robots software platform with partners in order to learn and build the optimized overall solution providing value for each party.
For a logistician, an urban area, a city, LMAD positions itself as a partner to build and operate or license, a platform allowing the operation of logistics services based on autonomous vehicles.
autonomous
To know more : lmad.eu
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