OP-ED

FUTURE OF WAREHOUSE AUTOMATION

How UAE’s Vertical Urbanization And Logistics Management Technologies Are Paving The Way For Logistics Sustainability

oham Chokshi, CEO & Co-

SFounder of Shipsy, shares his opinions on various resources enabling sustainable logistics. From UAE’s worldclass infrastructure comprising green skyscrapers to the adoption of cutting-edge technologies to digitize processes and launch smart mobility resources, UAE has established itself as one of the frontrunners in the sustainability game —in alignment with Dubai Vision 2030. But how exactly can UAE’s vertical urbanization influence sustainable logistics operations? Let’s get to the bottom of this… High-rise residential buildings in Dubai reached 581,166 units (79%) in 2020 and are a common residential type. This number continues to increase as the city expands its real estate horizons. Since these tall residential towers house numerous people, the chances of receiving multiple orders from one particular tower are higher. This reduces the time the delivery agents spend on the road to deliver an order. It also shrinks trip volumes and distance travelled and reduces carbon emissions to fulfil delivery commitments. Compared to a city with a horizontal infrastructure, this proves far more effective and supports the government’s efforts to work toward a collective goal of sustainability.

Dubai’s polycentric city approach further supports this. A polycentric city is an area with three or more clusters of buildings that are significantly taller than the surrounding urban fabric. Skyscraper districts and clustered communities such as Downtown Dubai, JLT; Business Bay; Dubai Marina; Palm Jumeirah; and several others today cover a significant portion of the city’s infrastructure and contribute to reducing travel time to execute deliveries in these clusters. So while the volume of deliveries within these areas will be higher, a comparatively shorter delivery radius will also make implementing smart mobility concepts, such as driverless shuttles, e-bikes, and so on, possible.

But are these factors alone enough to tackle the logistical challenges in the country?

The Need To Pivot to the Evolving Customer Expectations 61% of transportation and logistics organizations globally consider the last mile as the costliest leg of the entire logistics operation. Moreover, challenges such as poor address quality are unique to the region, eventually adding up to fuel consumption and a brand’s carbon footprint. Beyond such logistics inefficiencies lay the ever-evolving customer demands around faster, economical, and sustainable deliveries.

Delivery is a critical component of a customer’s online purchasing experience. For instance, 64% of customers want to know the ETA of their orders, 28% consider delivery time to determine how good a retailer is, while 61% will continue to shop with the brand if they are happy with the delivery experience. As a result, delivery services have become critical in establishing a competitive edge in the eCommerce and retail industries.

Many companies offer same-day delivery services to consumers looking for easier and faster delivery options. This has resulted in delivery partners increasing the volume of vehicles on

road, and trip frequencies to meet same-day delivery SLAs, thereby shooting up the carbon footprint.

Additionally, a surge in fuel prices is a significant cause of worry as it considerably swells overall logistics costs. Businesses need to shell out more money for each mile travelled which directly hits profitability. Please address this challenge to avoid passing the cost-burden baton to the consumer, which can be detrimental to customer retention. Moreover, 65% of consumers in the Middle East have become more ecofriendly during the pandemic, engaging in sustainable behaviours. It will not be surprising to see customers buying into brands that focus on sustainability. To tackle evolving customer expectations and such unprecedented variables, businesses must invest in innovative and agile technologies. Such solutions can improve process efficiencies, reduce costs, and drive sustainable logistics operations.

Executing Sustainable Logistics Operations

Here’s how joining forces with intelligent logistics management tools can further support actualizing sustainable logistics operations in the UAE.

Optimizing Routes to Curb Carbon Footprint Smart logistics management platform digitizes the product journey. It allows businesses to tame areas of

Soham Chokshi, CEO & Co-founder, Shipsy logistical inefficiencies. Digital documentation removes paper trails. AI and MLpowered route planning and optimization engines chalk the plan for the most efficient travel route across logistics operations. This results in lesser time spent on the road. Intelligent route optimizers help eliminate empty miles, reduce the distance travelled by 5%, prevent vehicle idling, and shrink trip volumes by 6%.

Accurate ETAs, real-time tracking of delivery progress, and flexible deliveries enable customers to stay available at the time of delivery or request a reschedule as per their preferred time slots. This helps logistics stakeholders to maximize the first-attempt delivery success rate and reduce multiple reattempts, trip volumes, and CO2 emissions.

Such solutions also empower delivery managers to configure and prioritize eco-friendly delivery modes for a select, often short, delivery radius, which is particularly favourable given Dubai’s polycentric city model. With this pre-fed logic, the system automatically allocates bicycles, EVs, or driverless vehicles to execute shortdistance deliveries.

Improving Address Quality to Minimize Returns Poor quality addresses or drivers’ inability to navigate to the customer location on time is a big concern for express parcel delivery service providers. This leads to more fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Moreover, 51% of shoppers go for returns if their order arrives late, which puts all the logistical efforts to waste. Geocoding helps convert poorquality addresses into exact coordinates. This shows up as a clear polyline on the driver’s mobile app leading them to the exact customer location.

Enhancing Capacity Utilization Another method to enhance delivery performance is automating capacity planning. AI-powered logistics management tools leverage intelligent algorithms that seamlessly map consignment and vehicle data. They can optimize a vehicle’s capacity by considering parameters such as delivery location, weight, volume, time SLAs, storage type, and much more, which helps improve fleet capacity without hampering mileage or vehicle life as it runs on optimum load. It thereby increases vehicle capacity utilization by 31%.

Clubbing Orders to Bring Down Trip Volumes AI-powered logistics management platforms improve delivery productivity by enabling multi-stop pickups and deliveries for drivers on a single trip. En-route order clubbing combines pickups and drops to reduce trip frequencies and improve driver productivity by 14%.

The right mix of infrastructure and technology can significantly drive green logistics operations and support the UAE’s sustainability goals, one delivery at a time.

Geocoding helps convert poor-quality addresses into exact coordinates. This shows up as a clear polyline on the driver’s mobile app leading them to the exact customer location.