Trends & challenges in e-commerce delivery

The rapid growth of e-commerce has transformed the logistics landscape, creating a dynamic environment where new trends and challenges continuously reshape its future. During CodeZERO’s first online workshop, stakeholders from various sectors gathered to examine delivery attributes, innovative solutions, and the broader perspectives influencing urban logistics.

A balancing act: efficiency, sustainability & innovation

With each emerging trend in e-commerce delivery comes the challenge of balancing efficiency, sustainability, and innovation. Stakeholder priorities evolve in response to consumer expectations, operational constraints, and environmental concerns. A survey conducted during the workshop, involving 74 participants, revealed key priorities across four categories: demand, supply, impact, and context. The results provided a snapshot of how these attributes are perceived and ranked by stakeholders.

• Demand-side priorities
  Delivery cost was unsurprisingly ranked as the most important attribute, followed closely by delivery time and reliability. Flexibility and alternative delivery methods fell lower on the list, with information ranked as the least critical factor.

• Supply-side priorities
  Service organisation emerged as the top priority by a significant margin, reflecting its central role in maintaining efficiency and reliability. Attributes such as warehouse efficiency, service vehicles arrangement, and workforce arrangement were closely ranked, while impact monitoring systems were considered less critical.

• Impact of logistics
  Service efficiency was deemed the most important attribute, followed by environmental impacts and transport impacts. Labour impacts were also considered important but ranked slightly lower.
  

  Impact attribute ranking

• Contextual considerations
  Street accessibility topped the list as the most important contextual factor, followed by the availability of parking lots and micro-hubs. CCAM paths and drone flight permits were ranked lower, reflecting their innovative yet nascent stage in logistics adoption.

Filling in the gaps

To ensure no critical aspects were overlooked, stakeholders were invited to suggest additional attributes they felt were important. Many of these suggestions were refinements of existing contextual attributes, with the most common being “zero-emission zones” and “cycle path quality.” These responses reinforced the importance of street accessibility, highlighting the need for infrastructure that supports sustainable and efficient logistics.

Reconciling expectations with reality

The workshop findings underscored the complex interplay between consumer demands, industry priorities, and urban infrastructure constraints. While businesses strive to innovate and meet customer expectations, cities face increasing pressure to manage the spatial and environmental impact of growing delivery volumes.

Public space in many European cities is at a premium, making it challenging to accommodate delivery hubs, parking, and other logistics infrastructure. Stakeholders raised questions about ensuring sustainable consumer behaviors, such as using bikes or walking, to access pick-up points and lockers. These innovations offer potential solutions to delivery challenges but also introduce new complexities.

To effectively address the trends and challenges shaping e-commerce delivery, workshop participants emphasised the need for coordinated efforts in policy, industry, and research. Policymakers should support the adoption of innovative last-mile technologies while promoting urban strategies that prioritise sustainable logistics, including zero-emission zones and improved cycling infrastructure. On the industry side, companies must invest in scalable delivery models that strike a balance between cost, efficiency, and sustainability, such as smart lockers and consolidated deliveries, while fostering cross-sector partnerships with logistics providers and city authorities to create integrated systems.

Further research is essential to explore the interconnections between key delivery attributes, such as service efficiency and urban infrastructure, and to investigate how consumer behaviors—such as travel methods to pick-up points—can influence the sustainability of logistics systems. By embracing innovation, collaboration, and data-driven insights, the future of e-commerce delivery can align more closely with the dual goals of efficiency and sustainability.

By adopting these recommendations, policymakers, industries, and researchers can collectively address the multifaceted challenges of e-commerce delivery. The path forward lies in embracing innovation, fostering collaboration, and prioritizing sustainability to create a logistics ecosystem that serves both urban environments and consumer needs.