Project introduction ---

Logistics Accessibility Data – Better Transport Services With Data

Artikkelikuva: Project introduction

Where can I leave my delivery van when bringing a delivery to a recipient? Is there any road construction work being carried out near the delivery’s recipient that should be taken into account when planning the route? In a big housing company, where is the exterior door through which the delivery should be brought to the recipient?

These are questions that a delivery driver often has to consider when bringing a delivery to a recipient. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the use of online shopping and package delivery has increased, including to private customers of online shops, which increasingly requires drivers to plan and optimise their driving on terms of both routes and time. This means that information on where the delivery should be taken and how to get there is essential. The ‘last mile’ has been found to be the most challenging factor of the logistics chain and the most demanding with regard to the service level.

The Logistics Accessibility Data project solves challenges in local distribution by making information on reachability available to all logistics operators in the form of open, standardised data. The concrete objective is to create an operating model for companies to convey last mile delivery data to drivers as open data.

Objective

The project will improve the service level and operational efficiency of logistics companies.

1. We will promote the operating conditions and cost efficiency of the logistics sector by streamlining deliveries in the urban area of Helsinki with the help of sustainable solutions and tools.
2. We will improve the service level provided to logistics customers and reduce the uncertainty and complexity of distribution and the time spent on deliveries.
3. We will reduce the load on the environment by optimising deliveries, improving predictability and reducing the time spent looking for parking spaces. This will promote the City of Helsinki’s carbon neutrality goal.

Duration, partners and funding

• The project will run from 1 November 2020 to 31 May 2022.
• The project is funded by the City of Helsinki Innovation Fund and has a total budget of EUR 352,360.
• The project partners are Forum Virium Helsinki and TIEKE, the Finnish Information Society Development Centre.

The role of Forum Virium Helsinki

Forum Virium Helsinki will research and develop storage solutions and tools needed for data collection, start collecting data during the project and communicate about the project to probable users of the data. This mapping will be carried out in cooperation with transport and recipient companies, such as restaurants and other brick and mortar businesses.

Benefits for Helsinki and its residents

The logistics services of the city and its residents will improve and the service level will increase. Smart logistics will reduce emissions from transport and promote Helsinki’s carbon neutrality goal.

The Logistics Accessibility Data project will produce new, smart solutions and tools for the local distribution challenges of logistics operators, for which existing tacit knowledge has not been successfully utilised. Information related to the ‘last mile’ is usually stored in the memory of drivers, and this information is not necessarily passed on to other drivers. Labour turnover causes additional problems in the conveyance of information. In the inner city of Helsinki in particular, ‘last mile’ challenges weaken the ability of transport companies to find drivers for distribution in this area. For their part, the recipients of deliveries are forced to suffer from this problem in the form of delays in deliveries. They even have to guide a frequent rotation of couriers to the place of receipt time after time, which is perceived as poor service.

Dear logistics company, come and join us – sign-up is open!

The Logistics Accessibility Data project creates the conditions for companies to develop distribution logistics with the help of data. The logistics services of companies will improve, and the service level provided to customers will be raised. In the initial phase, the project is seeking 10–20 pilot companies from the logistics industry to pilot the solutions and tools produced by the project. The objective of the project is to make it possible for all companies and distribution operators in the Helsinki area to utilise the new data.