URBAN LOGISTICS AND

© EKUPAC

URBAN LOGISTICS AND STANDARDISATION

EKUPAC

We are in the midst of the mobility transition and face the huge challenge of finding new paths towards a better future – paths that are not far-off visions but implementable in the real world.

For more than 25 years, EKUPAC has increasingly specialised in holistic approaches and concepts in the field of reusable transport packaging and hence urban logistics.

Many projects have already been successfully implemented, including the aubergine-coloured fruit and vegetable crates for ALDI Süd, the reusable crates that esprit uses to supply its stores, and the plastic Euro pallets and quarter pallets, which are utilised in diverse ways in industry and commerce. In close collaboration with its partners and the companies in which it holds an interest, EKUPAC is a specialist in comprehensive solutions – and not just in theory but tried and tested in practice because the company steers all its concepts from the test phase through to market roll-out and optimises them together with its customers. For some years, its work has gone beyond mere transport packaging and now provides some urgently needed logistics solutions for urban environments.

Transport solutions: Goods transport on the penultimate and last mile

Our cities are at their limits. Transports in and out of them are overburdening the infrastructure, which hasn’t kept up with this growth, and causing severe congestion every day. Solution: the penultimate mile

With its company Smart City Loop, EKUPAC has shown how goods can be transported underground on some sections of their routes through urban areas. The team has developed a concept for the penultimate mile.

Goods are transported by an autonomous transport system from an urban hub at the city’s periphery to a city hub. From there, they continue their journey to the customer on vehicles such as cargo bikes or e-scooters, or customers collect the items in person. Conversely, finished products or recyclable materials are transported out of the city in the same way. A feasibility study in Hamburg has shown that a single pipe can eliminate up to 1,500 transport trips per day. This contributes significantly to traffic calming and air quality while enhancing the attractiveness of the urban environment for residents.

All the components of the Smart City Loop system are tried and tested and represent the state of the art in technology – the pipe construction, conveyor systems and automated industrial trucks. This means that the implementation is technically feasible within a very short timescale – three years have been estimated from the start of construction to the go-live in Hamburg.

Digitally networked from dispatch at the city’s periphery to the end customer – congestion-free, low-emissions and on time.

Solution: the last mile

Transporting goods with e-cargo bikes on the last mile requires not just well-positioned city or micro hubs and optimal route planning but also reliable e-cargo bikes equipped for long-term use. This is precisely the service that the company offers with the ecoCARRIER. German engineering and production are combined with the knowledge of experienced logistics specialists to offer an all-round service in this field.

Packaging solutions: Reduce – reuse The circular economy

From the manufacturer via suppliers to the end consumer – pragmatic, environmentally and economically viable, quickly implementable and holistic concepts are urgently needed here.

One such solution is currently in a very promising test phase. Customers pack their purchases from a bricks-and-mortar store in a folding crate and pay a refundable deposit for it at the checkout. The next time they go shopping, they return the crate, for example to a returns machine, and their deposit is reimbursed. Another crate is selected in the store for their new purchases. All the crates are washed and inspected after their return, ensuring that customers always receive a clean and hygienically impeccable crate.

Online orders? No problem with this system. Instead of getting their shopping in lots of paper bags, as is currently the case, customers would also receive their deliveries in a folding crate with a refundable deposit. Now there are two options: the customer can either return the crate to the store or exchange the empty crate for a full one the next time they buy online.

Ideally, this would not be a siloed solution, but applied on a wide scale, thereby strengthening customer acceptance, increasing the number of return stations, and allowing all the processes in the service to run efficiently.

Further innovations address the issue of store displays: To start with, there are solutions that achieve the same stability as current displays, but with much less cardboard, which saves resources and cuts costs. But the multifunctional reusable display presents an alternative approach. Versatile in its applications and capable of being restocked again and again – additional cardboard is no longer needed with this solution.

Future Council for the Circular Economy for Consumer Goods (Zukunftsrat Konsumgüterwirtschaft Circular Economy e.V.)

EKUPAC is a founding member of the Future Council. The Council’s vision is to accelerate the transition to an efficient and sustainable circular economy for consumer goods and to promote sustainable economic growth. It aims to drive research and to shape and steer the transformation from a purely commercial business model to a sustainable one. At all stages in the circular economy, sustainable added value is generated, and efficiency gains are unlocked through supply and demand in particular. What’s more, this creates the impetus for joint action, and all these benefits are strengthened through collaboration between participants in the circular economy. The Future Council will present market participants – end customers, companies and other stakeholders – with implementable proposals and offer them investment security.

The association is currently being established. Its goal is to address the questions of the circular economy and sustainability in all their diversity from an independent, neutral and cross-sector perspective. This will range from providing an information platform for end consumers to tangible support for projects.

“We therefore call on all market participants, politicians and associations to tackle the pressing issues with this mindset. To not waste any more time on party politics, unworkable ideas or personal vanities. Together, we must address the urgently needed sustainability issues with the determination to change and the necessary pragmatism. We must pool the available resources and invest them in concepts and solutions that are feasible – and feasible now! Certainly, there are many visionary ideas for the distant future – but it’s five past twelve –let’s start with what’s feasible today.”

Ingrid Janßen, Managing Director of EKUPAC GmbH

Logistics real estate Green – multifunctional – attractive urban architecture

Innovative concepts in the field of logistics real estate are still often overlooked by cities despite their importance as a key to car-free and more human-scale urban environments and their potential to support bricks-and-mortar retail.

Diverse solutions in the form of micro hubs, multi-hubs with different use concepts and the rezoning of no-longer-required space can secure supplies to residents. It is up to cities and local authorities to recognise that logistics solutions must be provided with land at market-based prices and included in plans when developing new neighbourhoods. This naturally also applies to existing neighbourhoods that must be adapted over the coming years.

Such hubs do not necessarily have to contain solely logistics space. Rather, they could be designed as meeting places and communication centres for residents – with car- and bike-sharing stations, e-charging infrastructure, parcel pick-up points, food service outlets and event venues. Designed in harmony with the urban architecture, these would be places that make city life worth living.

With its partners, EKUPAC offers sophisticated concepts and solutions in this field – for both urban and rural areas.

Visit EKUPAC at stand H021 in hall 1.2

EKUPAC GmbH Rösrather Straße 2 - 16 51107 Köln Germany +49 221 861428 info@ekupac.de www.ekupac.de, www.smartcityloop.de