What future for the last meter Supply Chain?

Xavier PREVOST, Director of Business Solutions, Transport and Information Systems at FM Logistic

Published on: November 17, 2022

Updated on: October 13, 2023

The local Supply Chain, including that of the last meter, corresponds to all the logistics activities that must be organized and executed close to the end consumer both in cities and in peri-urban or rural areas.

Urban logistics aims to optimize all delivery flows as well as reverse logistics flows both for consumer products (food and non-food) and for the reuse of primary packaging (product packaging) or secondary packaging (product packaging). logistics). It must make it possible to efficiently process BtoB, BtoC, CtoC and DtoC flows.

What are the challenges for the consumer, the real boss of the Supply Chain?

The consumer first seeks to find the right answer to his needs or uses; which implies providing them with the richest and most complete commercial offer possible close to their living area (home or work).

It will favor the simplest, most practical, safest and most available offers and solutions (near or quick) while increasingly valuing respect for the environment in relation to its local activities... without ever forgetting the price of the product or service provided.

What are the challenges for all e-business players?

All e-business players (retailers, brands, BtoB suppliers, etc.) are faced with great difficulty in organizing last-meter logistics, which is becoming more and more restrictive both in terms of the expectations of their customers and of delivery conditions (constraints, legislation, traffic, lack of qualitative solutions, etc.)

The cost of delivery often calls into question the overall balance of their business models.

What are the challenges for the environment and for communities?

Local authorities are concerned about the situation without having to date launched and supported real projects to overhaul the local Supply Chain, knowing that the issues of consumer services and public interests are very different depending on the environment.

In urban areas, the major challenges are to reduce nuisances linked to noise, traffic and pollution while providing ever more services to residents and local traders. While in rural areas, the challenge is to guarantee access to on-site offers and services to limit travel to cities and energize these areas to retain populations.

Some observations regarding the current situation

To date, several last-meter logistics models coexist without having found a real solution for harmonious, ecological, qualitative and economic development in the interest of all Supply Chain players.

Home deliveries by BtoB and BtoC e-business players are completely split, which generates a total lack of optimization of logistics flows. BtoB is often delivered by specialized service providers leaving other service providers to deliver the non-food BtoC in tours that are often dedicated and not optimized. Food retailers still have a dedicated organization for their home deliveries which seriously affects their profitability.

The collection and return points for orders are very diffuse with very variable levels of service depending on the space and attention given by the merchants.

Private automatic lockers are multiplying in an anarchic and exponential manner without any pooling of flows between the players.

In food, pedestrian drives which provide a real local service to consumers do not allow retailers to find an economic balance in the short and medium term.

Quick commerce dark stores destroy the added value of commerce and completely disrupt the understanding of the challenges of last-meter logistics.

Urban pooling to optimize the last meter Supply Chain

At FM Logistic, we are convinced that ecology rhymes with economy.

At FM Logistic, we are currently designing the concept of urban pooling which will be a real breakthrough in last-meter logistics.

We wish to promote more sharing and more optimization of routes by implementing a control tower and urban pooling offer aimed at optimizing routes for several retailers from check out on the e-commerce site.

We must also strengthen the pooling of delivery flows and reverse flows (products and packaging) by mixing BtoB and BtoC flows by implementing micro-hubs on the outskirts and in cities while reducing nuisance for residents.

City corner… the innovative solution that creates the real profession of the last meter

Collection in a city corner near the consumer's home always costs less than home delivery... even if it is still largely possible to optimize the delivery service offered to consumers by professionalizing and organizing this activity.

The city corner really meets the expectations of each of the players in the local logistics ecosystem. It offers under one roof, in less than 5 minutes and over extended opening times, a complete self-service order collection offer (robots and machines) for both food baskets and non-food parcels and parcels. bulky.

It is first and foremost an innovative solution for the consumer. It offers them a promise of quality:

“City corner offers me the possibility of collecting, returning or having food and non-food shopping delivered to me. I also have the possibility to drop off my returns and reusable packaging. I go there on foot and at the time I want because it is located near my house or where I am”

It is also an effective promise for national and local merchants because they can benefit from all the advantages of pooling by offering consumers a premium withdrawal service at the best cost price.