Project description
A robotic twist to the click-and-collect lockers for parcel delivery
The online shopping explosion has resulted in an increase in online order deliveries. Parcel carriers are increasing the number of delivery trips, with a corresponding rise in traffic. Efficient parcel delivery requires a network of urban mini-hubs that can serve many citizens at the same time. The network includes click-and-collect parcel lockers, but these are based on the inefficient technology of electric-lock mailboxes. In this context, the EU-funded TARDIS project will design a compact, modular single-access window parcel locker that automatically defragments itself. Parcels will be rearranged inside to maximise space use. What is more, the new system will include several temperature zones for the storage of fruit, vegetables and other perishable goods.
Objective
The last mile in parcel delivery can take 35-50% of the total transportation costs because of the difficulty of transporting individual shipments to many different urban destinations. To meet growing consumer demand in e-commerce, parcel carriers undertake more delivery trips, congesting the roads & clogging the streets. While delivery vans were only 7% of urban travel in EU in 2015, they already accounted for 18% of the congestion.
Efficient parcel delivery requires vans to deliver most packages to very few addresses. This is only possible with a dense network of urban mini-hubs that would serve many citizens at the same time.
Logistics carriers have started deploying their own networks of click-and-collect parcel lockers but they are based on the outdated inefficient technology of a mailbox of a fixed size with an electric lock, which puts a limit on their scalability.
Tardis is a compact, modular single-access window parcel locker that automatically defragments itself. Tardis rearranges parcels inside to free space for additional ones, which results in 300% more parcels stored than in a traditional parcel locker of the similar floor size. Tardis also contains several temperature zones enabling grocery & other perishable goods delivery.
Tardis storage efficiency will allow us to build & deploy smaller & more efficient parcel locker networks in dense city areas capable of handling all typical online purchases of an urban dweller.
With our parcel lockers, we will be able to reduce the costs of the carriers 3-4x, offering them a competitive advantage, create an open scalable urban delivery network & lay the foundation for same day delivery—the next frontier in online retail & B2C logistics.
We forecast revenues of €41m by 2023 (for a multi-city network of ~539 units), aiming for €350m+ by 2027.
In this project we will finalize the value proposition, create maps of locations for 1st installations, carry out cost/benefit analysis & secure partnership agreements.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsliquid fuels
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementcommercee-commerce
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementbusiness models
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- social sciencessocial geographytransportpublic transport
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
93200 SAINT DENIS
France
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.