Laying the groundwork for future sustainability in logistics and mobility

[Translate to Englisch:] Lastenrad
© Onomotion/Janine Graubaum

Freight and goods traffic has increased to a degree that it now makes up nearly 30 percent of all the traffic in German cities. “The coronavirus pandemic has reinforced and accelerated this trend, as online trade and with it deliveries have boomed,” says Prof. Dr. Pirmin Fontaine. He holds the junior professorship for Operations Management at the KU and is currently looking into the potential of cargo bikes for city deliveries. He is also going to be a lecturer in the newly established Bachelor’s degree program “Sustainability in Business and Economics” that is going to open its doors to students at the Ingolstadt School of Management (WFI) in the winter semester.

Aim of this program is to root sustainability more firmly in business. One of a total of four focus areas is the issue of logistics and digital systems. The question poses itself how production, logistics and supply chain management of global corporations can be designed in a way that goes easy on resources and is socially responsible - a question that not only arises in view of the consequences of online trade. These are the issues that students will research if they choose the specialization “Customer Experience, Digital Systems and Operations for a Sustainable World”.

In his research project funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Professor Lafontaine has investigated the potential cargo bikes can have in delivering packages to customers on the so-called last mile. Constantly stopping in front of houses to make deliveries, courier, express and parcel services are currently causing massive disruptions in traffic flow, especially during rush hour. “When taking a look at parcel delivery, we have to keep in mind three groups: the customer, the service providers and the municipalities. Our project revolves around municipalities, so that we might support them in the planning phase of infrastructure for cargo bikes,” says Professor Fontaine. This is important since these vehicles are mostly powered by an electrical pedal assist device, which inevitably brings with it a limited radius for the bike and limited space for the packages. As a result, deliverers will have to keep their tours shorter. At the heart of this idea lie so-called micro depots, which have to be strategically placed in cities. Goods that come from outside the city will be taken to micro depots in a truck or van, from where they will make their journey to the end customer in cargo bikes. Deliveries to the depots can be made in the early morning hours when there is little traffic.