Dear Reader,

Welcome to our 5th NOVELOG Newsletter!

We are pleased to present in this issue our latest achievements and also highlight some key events coming up that I am sure you do not want to miss! NOVELOG project has almost three months to go before its three-year life cycle come to an end and I may say that it was an exciting and challenging ride! The six NOVELOG pilot cases and six case studies – located in 12 European cities - have been successfully planned, implemented and assessed, revealing significant impacts in urban environments. However, even the best design requires guidance and a sound business model to become alive. Taking that into account, the NOVELOG partners made significant efforts for developing effective guidelines and business models so that the NOVELOG urban freight transportation initiatives are officially integrated in the cities’ logistics systems after the project’s lifetime.

After the previous issue of the newsletter, the final NOVELOG workshop took place in Athens, where the project’s pilots outcomes and future actions were presented. Moreover, a special NOVELOG session dedicated to the “Future of Urban Logistics” was organised at the 2017 Polis Conference and the NOVELOG partners participated in several other events and conferences.

As we are close to this journey’s end, I am happy to invite you all to our Final Conference which is organised jointly with three other CIVITAS Urban Freight Projects (CITYLAB, SUCCESS, U-TURN) and will be held on 23th and 24th April in Brussels. You may find more information in the following pages.

Last but not least, NOVELOG will organise in the following months, special sessions at the 5th European Conference on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans which will take place on 14th & 15th May in Nicosia (Cyprus) as well as at the 4th Conference on Sustainable Urban Mobility which will be hosted in Skiathos (Greece) on 24th & 25th May. I am looking forward to seeing you all there!

You can find more information about these events and more in the following pages!

Stay tuned and enjoy your reading!

Georgia AyfantopoulouNOVELOG Coordinator

Twenty eight partners

from all over Europe

have joined forces to

push research and

innovation in urban

freight and

city logistics

NewsletterApril 2018 Issue 5

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 636626

The Future of Urban Logistics investigated by NOVELOG at the 2017 Polis Conference

The NOVELOG partners IRU Projects, CERTH-HIT and Polis organised a session on the future of urban logistics at the 2017 Polis annual conference which was held in Brussels, in December 2017.

Over 65 people participated in this session and engaged in vibrant discussions aiming to find answers to future-looking questions on whether robots will take over last mile deliveries; on how automation will impact the logistics industry; on whether blockchain deserves its current publicity; or on how stakeholders can ensure safety remains a key objective of urban logistics activities in the future.

Participants observed changes in and the increase of demand for deliveries as major challenges to be addressed in an efficient and sustainable way.

Among the major changes, e-commerce was recognised as both a threat and an opportunity. On the one hand, e-commerce represents an increase in the number of deliveries; affecting traffic, environment and road safety as well as the (low) loading factor of operators. On the other hand, if e-commerce is done efficiently, by flowing volumes onto consolidated networks, this can reduce congestion.

Furthermore, e-commerce is driving new last-mile business models in order to facilitate good customer service. Alternative modes and new ways of deliveries were considered as crucial for the development of the freight sector in the coming years. City-friendlier transport modes (e.g. walking, bicycles, tricycles, mini-vans, etc.), associated with low-emission vehicles (e.g. hybrid, electric, alternative fuel-based vehicles) and big data solutions will help to deliver goods in dense environment while reducing emissions and congestion. These solutions should therefore be integrated in SULPs (Sustainable Urban Logistics Plans). However, more research is needed on drones and robots, and important EU investments are expected for the development of the distribution network (e.g. electrified roadside infrastructure, production and distribution of hydrogen fuel cells or batteries) as well as incentives for the (private and public) stakeholders to invest in new technologies. In addition, cooperation of all parties involved is to be developed in order to ensure a sustainable and efficient development of urban logistics. One of the models for innovation to look at is the carrier / SME / university / government collaboration model. Another model for collaboration is the use of city logistics hubs, with consolidated deliveries, in which cooperation between retailers and transport operators results in less empty runs.

Peter Harris, Sustainability Director at UPS, summarised the discussion:

“The sustainable future of urban logistics will emerge from a combination of data-driven efficiency, electrification of distribution vehicles and new innovations in cycle logistics”.

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Athens city workshop: Guidance on developing business models for sustainable city logisticsAthens workshop took place on 15th February 2018 in the historical building of Athens City Hall, gathering over 50 experts from 16 countries.

Among the participants, Greek authorities were well-represented by Athens’ Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Mobility; representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport; as well as several invited Greek municipalities, including Igoumenitsa, Heraklion, and Thessaloniki. Greek cities could exchange on their experiences with some of the NOVELOG cities such as Pisa, Graz, Mechelen, Gothenburg, etc. Additionally, numerous industrial representatives, including the chairman of the Greek Logistics Company Association - representing more than 500 members – participated.

The workshop focused on the exchange of opinions and best practices on developing business models for sustainable city logistics.

During the workshop, the results of Athens’ NOVELOG Pilot activities, implementation guidelines and the next steps were presented. This was complemented by a presentation of Mechelen pilot’s results on “Lockers” and “Urban Distribution Center”. The experience of several European cities, including Athens, in the U-TURN project (innovative model for Urban Food Transportation) was also presented by the project coordinator, Mrs Zampou.

Regarding the local context of Athens, thanks to the valuable contribution of the Industrial partners

Synergy S.A, TRAINOSE and other industrial associations, it was agreed that the vehicles’ load factor could be maximised by improving the cooperation between businesses and customers; establishing Urban Consolidation Centers (with a strong contribution of the private sector); and developing cargo-matching platforms.

In addition, intermodal solutions for supporting sustainable urban logistics in Athens and Thessaloniki, were judged feasible by the shippers. However, service quality and availability are still major constraints for a full implementation.

The internet-based data collection and information exchange platform, developed by TRAINOSE was also presented.

Finally, the future actions on sustainable urban mobility in Athens were announced by the senior advisor to the Mayor of Athens. This included special references to city logistics initiatives, adopted during the project’s duration by the NOVELOG stakeholder platform of Athens.

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The NOVELOG Guidance has three components:

1 The main strategy is to integrate UFT solutions into the city’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP).

NOVELOG adapted the ELTIS SUMP Guidelines to fit the unique needs of urban logistics, focusing on the first six steps of the eleven-step manual. Naturally, the other tools developed in NOVELOG – the Understanding Cities Tool, Evaluation Tool “EVALOG”, and the NOVELOG Toolkit – were integrated into the whole process.

2 The next key component of the Guidance is the development of a local Multi-Stakeholder

Platform, which brings together key local stakeholders to plan, evaluate and decide on how the UFT system should be developed, following a participatory approach. The Platform is a key ingredient for a successful implementation of any UFT measure, as it provides the basis for consensus, legitimacy, and solidarity among the various stakeholders and actors.

3 The final key component of the Guidance is the use of business modelling to design desired

UFT measures and services. Here, we emphasize the necessity of sustainable business value, which delivers value to customers while reducing transport externalities.

As NOVELOG comes to an end, partners hope that the Guidance inspires the next generation to carry on the torch, as there is still much work to be done in research, practice

and policy making.

Guidance for supporting the viability of urban freight transport measures Sustainable practices in urban freight transport (UFT) strive for both sustainability and logistical excellence. However, long-term viability of sustainable urban freight transport measures and services are often threatened by uncertainty in the actions of public

authorities and in the adaptation of the market to those actions. NOVELOG developed an approach to support the continuity in the planning and vision of the city and to create opportunities for the exchange of knowledge between the public and private sector.

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NOVELOG Integration Steps to the SUMP

Step 1 Determination of the city’s potential for asuccessful urban freight planning process

Step 2 Definition of the development process and scope of the plan

Step 3 Analysis of the city’s current UFT situation

Step 4 Development of a common vision and future improvement scenarios

Step 5 Setting priorities and measurable targets

Step 6 Develop effective package of measures

Evaluation Tool “EVALOG”

Understanding Cities Tool

NOVELOG Toolkit

Development of UFT Business models

Creation of a Multi-Stakeholder Platform

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CIVITAS Urban Freight Conference

23-24 April 2018 - Brussels

The EU-funded CITYLAB, NOVELOG, SUCCESS, U-TURN projects join forces and invite you to the CIVITAS Urban Freight Conference, an interactive event including presentations, posters and exhibitions, breakout and training sessions, workshops and awards.

Participants will discuss new cooperation models for engaging and supporting public and private actors, the future of urban logistics, as well as specific topics such as stakeholder cooperation, policy and regulation, planning for freight, business models, data collection and management.

The event will also feature interactive dialogue with US stakeholders, including the US Department of

Transportation, currently partnering with the European Commission for the Urban Freight R&D Twinning Initiative.

More information and registration: bit.ly/UrbanFreightConference

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The SURFLOGH project Promoting green transport solutions In June 2017 a new Interreg North Sea Region project started: SURFLOGH (Sustainable Urban Freight Logistic Hubs). The project will run until October 2020.

The focus of the project is the optimization of the interaction between the hub and the urban logistics system, promoting both efficient and sustainable logistics in urban areas in smaller and medium-sized cities, city regions and networks.

One of the SURFLOGH partners, the city of Mechelen (Belgium) is also a pilot city within NOVELOG. For the city of Mechelen, SURFLOGH is an opportunity to continue working on sustainable and smart urban freight measures and solutions after NOVELOG will come to an end, in May 2018.

The city will focus on the following pilots:

• The development of a network of consolidation lockers

• The installation of an app for regulating loading and unloading zones, which also provides data to optimize urban freight activities

• The consolidation and optimization of an existing city hub (cooperating with bike couriers and stimulating electric transport).

More information will be soon available at: www.northsearegion.eu/surflogh/

The CIVITAS Urban Freight Cluster is composed by: Sponsored by:

Upcoming events

TRA 2018 - Transport Research Arena 16-19April2018,Vienna,Austria

https://www.traconference.eu/

TEN-T Days 2018 – Connecting Europe 25-27April2018,Ljubljana,Slovenia

https://www.tentdays.eu/2018/

5th European Conference on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans 14-15May2018,Nicosia,Cyprus

http://www.eltis.org/sump2018

International Transport Forum (ITF) Summit 12-25May2018,Leipzig,Germany

https://2018.itf-oecd.org/

4th Conference on Sustainable Urban Mobility 24-25May2018,Skiathos,Greece

http://csum.civ.uth.gr/

ECOMM 2018 30May–1June2018,Uppsala,Sweden

https://ecomm2018.com/

3rd VREF Conference on Urban Freight 17-19October2018,Gothenburg,Sweden

Call for papers open until 15 April 2018 http://www.chalmers.se/en/centres/lead/

urbanfreightplatform/vref-2018/Pages/

default.aspx

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CIVITAS Urban Freight Conference CITYLAB, NOVELOG, SUCCESS, U-TURN 23-24April2018,Brussels,Belgium

bit.ly/UrbanFreightConference

City Logistics as a service: A new paradigm shift ERTICO’s vision for 2030

The landscape of our cities and urban logistics is changing. NOVELOG partner, ERTICO’s new vision for 2030 proposes a number of new technologies and market dynamics that will reshape every stage of a product’s journey, but especially the final mile.

The lack of a holistic approach in transport and urban planning, in the movement of people and goods cause challenging discontinuities. Understanding the roles of key stakeholders will help determine how and when to engage, and where to target resources. To create better collaborative schemes amongst private and public stakeholders, NOVELOG , in which ERTICO – ITS Europe is a core partner, is tackling this challenge by establishing a common framework to support cities so that they incorporate SULP (Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan) and SUMP (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan) solutions in their city master plans.

The sustainability of urban logistics is an important issue for rapidly growing cities. Large e-commerce players as well as various start-ups now view last mile services as a key differentiator from their competitors. Many cities have developed strategies to move people more efficiently and safely, but much less attention has been paid to goods transport. This results in competition for traffic lanes and parking spaces. The exchange of traffic management data between traffic managers and service providers, a concept developed by the ERTICO platform TM 2.0, can enhance logistical efficiencies by better insight into highly congested delivery areas.

During the last mile, large shipments of goods are atomized into a multiplicity of individual deliveries, and transparency about the status of the goods and control over delivery location and timing are both in increasing demand. AEOLIX, a cloud-based, multi-enterprise “many-to-many” network which captures and streams data in real-time, automatically translates “data format” from different IT systems giving companies/authorities the ability to rapidly respond to issues through a customised dashboard.

Advanced sustainable e-commerce solutions can function as a kind of shared mobility for goods. The concept of ‘’Logistics as a Service’’ has a lot of similarities with the ‘’Mobility as a Service’’ paradigm. Smart contracts enabled by block chain technology are expected to

enable more efficient and secure collaboration amongst players. Sharing assets can allow transportation companies to take better advantage of their own networks’ capacity. Greater sharing of commercial vehicles will prompt a rethink of how carriers operate.

Rather than replacing trucks, drones may become an excellent complement to them, since they can take on many short-distance deliveries in a cost-effective manner. The rise of 5G, Internet of Things technology, end-to-end visibility networks and block chain promises to create a high-volume and high-velocity data environment which will likely create opportunities for e.g. dynamic routing and anticipatory shipping. Many carriers are already investing in C-ITS to build connected fleets. The most forward-looking ones look into semi-autonomous, electric vehicles, or data-sharing platforms. A different possible future would see the last mile as the frontier for autonomous vehicles. Technologies and practices first developed for the taxi industry may help freight carriers negotiate the complexity of in-town delivery.

ERTICO’s vision for urban logistics is an open road of possibilities, punctuated with exciting technological innovations.

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For further information

www.novelog.eu

Dr. Georgia Ayfantopoulou (Coordinator) novelogoffice@certh.gr, gea@certh.gr

Giacomo Lozzi (Dissemination Manager) glozzi@polisnetwork.eu

NOVELOG consortium

The NOVELOG consortium comprises a variety of experts in the field of urban freight transport, ensuring the knowledge of the academic sector, the experience of cities, the expertise of consultants and the multiplier effect of European networks.