Demonstration B: TNT Express in Brussels - City Logistics Mobile Depot

• Watch our video (published 28th Feb 2012, 4 mins)
• Go to our workshop report page
• See our results

The TNT Express demonstration aimed to increase efficiency of operations for TNT's central Brussels parcel deliveries. In the baseline situation, several vans drove from the TNT depot (located outside the city centre) to the city centre to deliver parcels. As in most larger European cities, deliveries in Brussels are hampered by congestion which makes them both slow and environmentally unfriendly. To increase efficiency of operations, TNT started using a mobile depot, which is a trailer/truck fitted with all depot facilities (e.g. loading docks, labelling, data entry). In the morning, this trailer/truck is loaded at the TNT depot near the airport with all deliveries for that day and carries them to a central location in the inner-city. Afterwards, electric vehicles and electrically supported tricycles were used for the last mile delivery operations.

TNT Express mobile depot

The mobile depot was designed by TNT and the Dutch Technical University Delft. The demonstration ran between June and August 2013, with all TNT Express parcels destined for the postcode areas of 1030 (Schaarbeek), 1040 (Etterbeek) and 1210 (Sint-Joost-Ten-Node) being delivered through this depot. A longer testing period will be used which should enable TNT to decide whether the mobile depot solution can live up to these expectations:

• Decreased truck-kilometres
• Reduced costs per stop
• Delivery times and punctuality for inner-city operations are at least maintained
• Reduced CO₂ emissions
• Employee satisfaction and noise level are at least maintained
• Information flows are at least maintained

TNT Express Tricycles in Brussels