Tailor Your Business in Lodz 2023

WAREHOUSE MARKET IN CENTRAL POLAND ŁÓDŹ AS A MODEL SMART CITY FOR URBAN LOGISTICS

Before the rise of online shopping, distribution in cities was practically limited to transportation between a distribution facility and a shopping centre or a brick-and-mortar store. For suppliers, the customer’s place of residence was irrelevant as the store was the place to shop. This can be illustrated as below.

LOGISTICS BEFORE THE E-COMMERCE

Distribution centres TAILOR YOUR BUSINESS IN ŁODŹ | PUBLICATION BY CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD Retail areas within city borders Shops Source: PWC Graphic design: Cushman & Wakefield

Things changed with the rise of e-commerce, which has transformed not only the way we think about shopping, but also consumer habits. Last mile distribution is not only about transporting goods from distribution centres to points of sale where consumers could make purchases, but also delivering orders to or collecting returns from private homes. Suddenly, city centres became swarmed by delivery vans that would squeeze through narrow streets, stop with hazard lights flashing in no-parking places or make a U-turn where it was not permitted. Van drivers did that to deliver a large number of parcels on time and to meet high KPI requirements. City centre plans have been reshaped completely to take account of new delivery addresses, as illustrated in the graphic below.

URBAN DISTRIBUTION TODAY: REDUNDANT DISTRIBUTION STRUCTURES

Distribution centres

Private houses

Retail areas within city borders Retail

Source: PWC Graphic design: Cushman & Wakefield

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