The last mile has become a major concern for logistics operators and professionals with goods to deliver in the city.
Many transport companies are looking for more innovative, more sustainable and, above all, more practical solutions for getting around in low-emission zones (LEZ).
On the other hand, more and more city stores want to deliver their customers efficiently, for the sake of their customers, the environment and their brand image..
They have therefore two options : get their own fleet made of bikes and remorques or choose a carrier according to precise specifications.
Carbon-free logistics, and logistics in general, have their own vocabulary..
In order to find your way around and become a cyclologistics player, you need to understand these terms.
Glossary: understanding for better action
This glossary of cyclelogistics will help all beginners who want to know more about the last mile.
Frontload cargo bike: two-wheeled bicycle with a front load space
Shipper: company needing to deliver goods
Payload: the load capacity of a vehicle once its own weight has been deducted
Freight forwarder: company that organizes the transport of goods without actually carrying out the transport itself
Containerization: placing goods in containers to limit transloading (container easy to move from one mean of transport to another)
Cyclelogistics: logistics by bike
Last mile: the last link in the logistics chain, enabling delivery to the end customer..
Express: companies delivering parcels weighing less than 30kg
Fleet: all the vehicles a company owns
HUB : logistics platforms close to cities to facilitate multimodality
Courier: delivery of parcels ranging from 30kg to pallets for B2B customers
Multimodal : integrating different complementary means of transport when moving goods (rail, river, road, bicycle).
Transloading : Each time a goods item undergoes a change of mode, it is unloaded and then reloaded, which implies a loss of fluidity in transport.
Carrier: company actually transporting goods
Trike: three-wheeled electrically-assisted bicycle with load space
VAE : vélo à assistance électrique
LCV : light commercial vehicle
LEZ: low-emission zone (limited to combustion engine vehicles)
It's easy to understand that the logistics chain brings together a number of complementary players involved in getting goods from the shipper to the end customer.
How it works: to identify the need
Switching from one mean of transport to another means transloading. The last mile usually involves transloading, because heavy goods vehicles, which carry an average of 3.5 tons of goods, don't drive in towns and drop off their goods at the edge of town (in hubs) or drop their trailer at a strategic location. The cargo is then divided into units that can be transported by LCV or bike: pallets, crates, containers.
Last-mile operators, such as couriers, collect goods and deliver them to the final destination..
With city centers becoming increasingly congested (traffic jams) and polluted, many cities are introducing Low Emission Zones (LEZs) that restrict car and LCV traffic.
In addition to the constraints of these areas, traffic jams and the problems of parking motor vehicles encourage the adoption of the bike, a light, agile vehicle that can use cycle paths, is more durable and capable of carrying large loads once fitted with the appropriate professional solutions.
In this context, and in order to meet environmental challenges, delivery by bicycle or cyclelogistics is essential.
Applications : get started !
Cyclelogistics is an aspect of professional cycleomobility..
These are professionals who carry out their work by bike. For example, a craftsman who cycles to his job site is practicing cyclemobility.
The field of application for cylelogistics continues to grow. Initially limited to parcel delivery, cylelogistics has diversified.
As of 2016, the BicyLift FlexiModal made it possible to lift and carry pallets by bike.
It is now possible to deliver under controlled temperature (cold or hot) and to collect waste by bike (bio-waste, green waste, cardboard, plastic, etc.).
Many liberal professions now also use bikes (landscaping, gardening, electricians, etc.), and trailers can be transformed into portable workbenches to meet specific needs (bakeries, pastry shops, libraries, education, music, etc.).
What are you waiting for ?
Understand what cyclelogistics is