Many transports into our cities are inefficient. Some vehicles travel half-empty, and this transportation of “air” involves unnecessary cost and a big footprint on the environment.
– If transports can be coordinated so that the most suitable vehicle is chosen for each task, we can reduce congestion, improve air quality and the city environment, says Cecilia Elb, project manager for Smoovit at Volvo Group Connected Solutions.
Niklas Falk
Co-loading together is an important milestone in the project of making transports of the future more efficient. It’s also in line with all Best’s deliveries being fossil free since the turn of the year
Ulf Hammarberg
Congestion is a big challenge that we all face. That is why it’s important for all stakeholders to rethink our old ways and take responsibility to collaborate
11 collaborating partners
This is the reason behind Smoovit, a research project started in 2019 involving 11 important partners within the transport industry, property owners, research institutes and government agencies. A founding premise of Smoovit is getting transport providers to collaborate.
– By designing and building a system that can tie together the systems of all partners involved, we facilitate collaboration, explains Cecilia Elb.
Thomas Röstell, Co-founder and CEO, Pling Transport
A project that delivers
On February 15 the first consolidated transport was delivered to the city of Gothenburg. Parcels from DHL and Best was driven into the city hub in Nordstan where they were consolidated onto cargo bikes for last-mile distribution by distributor Pling to nearby recipients.
– Co-loading together is an important milestone in the project of making transports of the future more efficient. It’s also in line with all Best’s deliveries being fossil free since the turn of the year, says Niklas Falk, Business area manager Gothenburg at Best, which is one of many partners in the Smoovit-project.
– Congestion is a big challenge that we all face. That is why it’s important for all stakeholders to rethink our old ways and take responsibility to collaborate, says Ulf Hammarberg, Sustainability specialist at DHL.
Inviting more companies
The launch of Smoovit is also the start for real-life testing of both the system and the business model. During the spring the first suburban consolidation hub will be established, and the plan is to invite other local companies to test the new solutions.
– For our cargo consolidation model to be successful it is important that it is attractive for the companies participating, says Cecilia Elb.
Thomas Röstell, Co-founder and CEO, Pling Transport
Continuous development
Meanwhile IVL is developing a model to calculate the sustainability effects, and together with Trafikkontoret they oversee policies and regulations.
– Smoovit as a system and business model is something that we develop and test together. That is why it’s important and exciting that we’re now rolling with cargo in a living-lab where we can learn together how to set up the city logistics for the future, says Cecilia Elb, project manager for Smoovit at Volvo Group Connected Solutions.
Facts: Smoovit
Smoovit is a research project partly financed by Vinnova. The project is backed by a consortium of 11 partners connected to the transport industry. The partners are: Volvo Group, DHL, Best, Pling, GLC, Velove, Nordstan, Trafikkontoret Göteborgs stad, RISE, IVL och Trafikverket.