The great boom in online commerce in recent years has meant that logistics companies have had to evolve in order to adapt themselves more and more to the needs of customers. It has been in this context that the so-called capillary distribution or urban distribution of goods is becoming increasingly important, especially in what is known as last-mile logistics, i.e. the last stage of the supply chain and the one that deals mainly with the delivery of products to the final distributor or directly to the customer. Capillary distribution has many advantages that make this method of transport and delivery very efficient and convenient for the customer. In essence, capillary transport is based on a network of smaller vehicles that deliver products directly to points of sale or end consumers.

Capillary transport in logistics is a key activity for the supply chain. One of its main advantages lies in logistical efficiency by eliminating intermediaries and unnecessary stops, which leads to a reduction in delivery times and costs associated with transport management. This efficiency translates into better resource management and optimization of logistics processes.

The challenges faced by capillary distribution are as follows:

Consumer Demands

The customer wants to choose the delivery times and modify them if needed. This is one of the most important demands for effective online commerce.

Reduction of emissions and pollution

Environmental demands come not only from the administrations, but also from consumers themselves, many of whom are willing to pay up to 10% more to receive more sustainable and environmentally friendly delivery services.

Optimized urban storage

The aim is that the absence of the recipient at the delivery address will force the entire delivery process to be carried out again. To this end, there must be optimized urban storage through a network of hubs that allow this commodity to be temporarily stored.

Shares

The demands for sustainability, efficiency, and customer adaptation cannot be achieved without an operations model in which collaborative and clustering models prevail to take advantage of empty rides and storage spaces in central areas.