A while ago I drafted this statement below from the national cargo bike summit in London… for a few reasons I didn’t post it… maybe I felt it needed some ‘more’ it also coincided with the ‘biggest operator’ mentioned in the post going into administration, at the time it appeared to be a blow to the industry we now know it not to be the case, as the industry continues to evolve. I guess i’ve just re-read it and realised how important that speech by Matt from Keert was at the time, so I’m posting it anyway.
Since this national cargo bike summit it feels that the beginnings of collaboration have opened up further to include others and more recently has lead to the Sustainable Urban Freight Association (SUFA) to be formed. The first group of its kind to include cargo bike and cycle logistics with other logistics businesses included also all striving for a lower emission approach to urban logistics and
reducing the impact.
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(from May 2024)
Often I like to refer to what we are doing at eLOV as innovative, and with a way of delivering well over 100 years old it’s the meeting of ebike technology with a requirement to do things in a more planet considerate way which makes this innovation even more required. With consumer demands dictating how much a delivery should cost (as well as how supply chain charge so savings can be realised) having a perceived ‘older’ way of delivering can sometimes be perceived as a step backwards.
Recently collaboration has increased with some other cargo bike delivery businesses throughout the UK. As clean air zones are introduced and cycle infrastructure improved, cargo bike logistics appears to be ‘the only’ way to deliver many parcels, even the Royal Mail are exploring bring the cargo bike back. in a recent conversation it may be that this network is needed to combined quicker than ever.
“Collaborate or Die” is the message from the Isle of Wight cargo bike operator, Keert at the national cargo bike summit in London this month and with the largest cargo bike operator in the room a mere 200 employees small, it’s clear that logistics employee in numbers with more traditional firms are 5 and nearly 6 figures in some instances. Fuel prices and restrictions on last mile making additional costs is forcing the large operators to find alternatives.
With e-commerce fighting for value to win sales and free delivery in some cases being a ‘loss leader’, how are logistics models going to evolve? Will consumers be more aware in the future of the arrival of their purchases just like having an understanding of how they’re produced in the first place?
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(back to present day)
In addition to everything above last month we held a UK forum at the international cargo bike festival, Utrecht, the Netherlands. An important leap as the UK is often seen as being behind by our neighbouring countries in Europe. Hosted by the Co-Chair of SUFA, Lee Pugh Colchester eCargo founder and joined by Daniel Bianco from Bright and Hove council it proved that the collaboration theme runs true with many. Not only did those from the UK meet there, we were also joined by our colleagues and neighbours from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France including other countries too.
The purpose of this blog post is to show how advancements continue and how important it is for support to come from all angles including our peers. Maybe you’re reading this as an operator elsewhere considering expansion elsewhere… could a collaboration make this happen faster? Or you are a business with freight being carried in a less innovative way… maybe a reach out to the low emission alternative could help you to innovate too?
In the meantime we enter our busiest season of trees, double orders to cover the Christmas period and parcels. Wishing you all the best!