The e-commerce parcels market in Germany is expected to more than double over the next decadebut sustainable concepts are vital in the long-term to minimise growing air pollution and save
costs through efficient operations, according to the German association Club of Logistics e.V.Arnold Schroven, DPD CEO and chainman of Club of Logistics, said he expects total shippingvolumes in the German B2C segment to reach 800-850 million parcels this year and to grow in thecoming 10 years to over 1.3 billion parcels per year.
Schroven highlighted the anticipated e-commerce growth as a great opportunity for logisticsoperators to expand their business. At the same time, however, it confronts them with increasingdemands and harsher competition.
The Club of Logistics highlighted e-commerce giants such as Amazon which are continuouslyimproving their delivery service and thus reacting to customers’ demands while further developingthe market and raising the bar.
At the same time, online shoppers want to determine themselves where and when to get theirordered products delivered but also be able to change, if necessary, the time and place of deliveryin a flexible way. Easy return handling is also in high demand.
Peter Voss, Managing Director, Club of Logistics, said. “This puts not only many web shops onthe spot but also logistics operators. For speeding up delivery is not an easy undertaking.” Inparticular, the last mile requires more and more flexibility to get the orders to customers on thesame day and thus to stay competitive.
Parcel operators have been adjusting their delivery service to this development with parcelterminals operating round the clock, 1-2 hour delivery time slots and alternative delivery to aplace chosen by the customers. Especially in larger cities, online shops are likely to developtheir own solutions for the distribution logistics. “Same-day deliveries will soon become part ofthe daily routine each time they are profitable and can be used to distinguish from thecompetitors,” Voß added.
With online shopping now being part of a daily routine for many people, Europe is recordingannual growth rates of 10-15% for the e-commerce industry. In Germany, nearly €30 billion wasgenerated through online purchases in 2012, almost doubling the figure of 2005.
While booming distance trade remains an important economic driver, it has also led to a dramaticincrease in inner-city traffic resulting in blocked roads, air pollution and noise disturbance.Therefore, the Club of Logistics is urging the logistics industry to relieve city centres withefficient concepts.
The association predicts that 70% of the world population will live in cities by 2050, comparedto 51% at present. This goes in line with increasingly growing freight traffic. “Today, servingnearly 2 billion people in the 800 biggest metropolitan areas in the world means revenue potentialof €66 billion for the logistics industry. At the current pace, there will be around one millionadditional trucks on the roads in big cities in 2020,” Voß estimates.
By 2050, the inner-city deliveries should become completely CO2 neutral, the association urged.Some cities have already taken measures. Stockholm, for example, has successfully introduced strictcapacity regulations for freight traffic as roads often cannot be broadened due to lack of spaceand funds.
“New efficient logistics concepts for the last mile that save resources are absolutelyindispensable,” Voss said. Consolidating volumes in centres on greenfield sites is already beingimplemented, as well as transporting several product groups in one truck. “Due to short deliveryroutes, e-vehicles can be deployed.”
Voss also considers consolidated, sorted collection and disposal of waste and resources. “Initial concepts have been submitted with retail waste, for example, being collected and finallydisposed of. Preparation and usage of resources transforms costs into revenues: an averagesupermarket generates 300 tons of waste per year which result, after sorting out digestible partsand burning the remainders, in a current value of around €25,000.”
To ensure the success of the concepts, cities need to create framework conditions and areas forthe consolidation centres. “The logistics operators need to rethink, approach cities and developcooperative solutions for efficient, climate friendly inner-city deliveries,” Voss concluded. Suchconcepts have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 30-40%. “For logistics operators, a whollynew market is being created with interesting revenue potential. According to calculations, thiscould amount to revenues of up to €24 billion per year.”
Founded in 2003, Club of Logistics comprises executives of different logistics companies,including DHL Express and DHL Parcel, DPD, FedEx, Austrian Post, Night Star Express, Hermes,InTime, GO! and others.
