Earlier this week, we attended the Micro-fulfilment and Warehousing online event, hosted by The Logistics Point. Our CEO Sebastian was invited to share his thoughts on the changing warehousing environment and discussed the subject ‘Micro-hubs - An Answer to E-commerce Logistics Challenges in a Post-Pandemic World’. This was an excellent event where we heard industry insights from Fizyr, Cranfield School of Management, Mango Logistics and BotsAndUs.
The event opened with Sebastian’s presentation on Micro-hubs, covering how many E-commerce logistics challenges in a post pandemic world can be answered by the Micro-hub solution. The presentation began by addressing the challenges of E-commerce today, the foremost of which remains the last mile. On average, the last mile accounts for 53% of the total cost of shipping. As customers continue to demand greater convenience and speed from their E-commerce experience, creating efficiency in the last mile is key for retailers.
Sebastian then spoke of the changing warehousing environment, discussing the rise of alternative delivery methods further accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The benefits of Micro-hubs were also mentioned, highlighting the operational and cost efficiencies of smaller urban warehouses, close to urban centres. Micro-hubs can also be seen to have a positive environmental impact, as they shorten driver destinations and journey times.
Next up in our presentation was a case study. Sebastian explained how our Hyper-local Solution converts access space in high street real estate for a variety of retail and logistics services. This was then linked to a future outlook and opportunities of Micro-hubs to innovate further.
The second presentation was by Fizyr titled ‘Solving The Puzzle In Logistics – Replacing Human Labour By Applying Deep Learning’. Fizyr applies deep learning to enable robots to grasp unknown items. Their discussion covered the role of technology, deep learning and AI, showing how robots can pick items and parcels.
Next up was a discussion panel, ‘Micro-fulfilment: Delivering Value for Growing Urban Centres’. The panel (including speakers from Cranfield School of Management, Mango Logistics and BotsAndUs) talked about current trends around Micro-logistics, the reality of implementing Micro-fulfilment solutions and operations, and the future of urban warehousing. Cranfield School of Management spoke on the ‘Future of Retailing: Micro-warehousing in E-commerce’, stating that logistics has seen high demand during the pandemic, with companies having to invest into warehouse infrastructure to adjust to such changes. The E-commerce boom was addressed, with Cranfield stating that over half of customers feel they are saving money by buying online. BotsAndUs suggested that the future of Micro-fulfilment will be built around a robotic solution, emphasising that data is at the core of organising Micro-fulfilment.
‘'In a world where low emission zones will grow, we see the rise of electric vehicles and alternative delivery methods such as cargo bikes. It is clear that the opportunity for Micro-hubs continues to innovate"
- Sebastian Steinhauser, Parcelly
We had a fantastic time at the event, discussing the future of Micro-hubs. Thank you to The Logistics Point for hosting us! We look forward to future events to share our thought leadership and tech innovation...#parcellypower. You can watch the full online event here.
The Logistics Point is an independent digital platform for supply chain and logistics news, publishing a digital monthly magazine. Their content includes exclusive video interviews where leading companies from the supply chain industry share their stories, advice and insights. Learn more about The Logistics Point here.
