Strategic collaboration to accelerate innovation in the logistics sector
Best, 24 May - Parcel service provider DPD and research organisation TNO conclude a strategic partnership to lift and accelerate technical innovation in the logistics sector to a higher level. The parties focus on innovation with regard to vehicles, data analytics, robotics and automation. TNO and DPD develop concrete projects on the basis of a joint innovation agenda, within which experiments can be carried out. The first concrete development of the partnership is the SOLiD project, aimed at a self-organising parcel delivery system.
First projects
For the SOLiD project, DPD and TNO are working together with various municipalities and four universities jointly on research and experiments in order to further develop the parcel delivery system in a self-organising manner. Another important issue on the innovation agenda is sustainability. For example, feasibility research is now being done into zero emission parcel delivery in Rotterdam.
“As a result of the growth of e-commerce and the demand for deliveries, the parcel delivery market is increasingly taking shape. This has an impact on society and on the environment. Think of emission gases in densely populated cities. This requires innovative solutions and an application of new technology. It also requires innovation in the sector and to accelerate this we are looking for ways both inside and outside our organisation. It is our ambition to improve life in and around cities. The collaboration with TNO is gaining momentum and helping us to achieve this aim”
Eric Dietz, CEO at DPD Nederland
“This partnership is shortening the time to market for innovations. We are able to test accelerated innovations in practice and then develop and implement them in one fell swoop by a competent market leader like DPD. In doing so we learn and adjust. It is especially important to start, so that the market can continue to fulfil the wishes of the consumer in a responsible manner. Using the joint innovation agenda and collaboration, we are able to use existing knowledge more easily and meet the current challenges in terms of mobility and urbanization.”
Paul van den Avoort, Director Mobility, Logistics & Smart Cities at TNO
About TNO
The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, TNO, is an independent research organisation. We connect people and knowledge to create innovations that sustainably strengthen the competitiveness of companies and the well-being of society. That is our mission and is what we, - more than 2,600 professionals at TNO, - are working on every day. We work, together with partners, on transitions in nine social domains that we have identified together with our stakeholders. Take a look on the TNO website for more information.
About DPDgroup
DPDgroup is the second largest international parcel service provider in Europe. DPDgroup combines innovative technology with local knowledge to provide a flexible and user-friendly service for both senders and shoppers. DPDgroup sets a new standard for ease of use with its leading Predict service by closely involving customers in the delivery of their parcel. With more than 68,000 delivery experts and a network of more than 32,000 local Pickup points, DPDgroup delivers 4.8 million parcels every day in 230 countries through its brands DPD, Chronopost, SEUR and BRT. DPDgroup is GeoPost's parcel deliverer, which recorded a turnover of € 6.8 billion in 2017. GeoPost is part of Le Groupe La Poste.
.