Evaluation of a Sustainable Crowd Logistics Concept for the Last Mile Based on Electric Cargo Bikes

During to the recent growth of e-commerce and as the number of shipments is rising last mile services are facing many challenges and hurdles especially in relation to sustainable action. Within the project NaCl measures were tested to address and to positively impact the three dimensions of sustainability on the last mile. Based on the usage of electric cargo bikes and a crowd logistics approach shipments of a regional logistics service provider and beyond of regional stationary retailers were realized during a three-month pilot phase. The project's activities and objects were evaluated regarding positive effects on social and ecological sustainability while including the economic aspects of the transportation system. The aim of the evaluation was to be able to make a fundamental statement regarding the usability of the crowd logistics approach and the sustainable Customer Relationship Management approach and, if necessary, to identify optimization potential and concrete suggestions for improvement. Another objective of the evaluation was to determine the needs of different participants such as retailers and shippers as well as of receivers and deliverers while considering sustainable goals. Various data collection and analysis methods were adopted to evaluate the project objectives in quantitative and qualitative ways. The evaluation audited the approach’s ability to have positive impacts on different dimensions of sustainability and showed further possibilities for improvement.