New episode of the MED COLOURS column dedicated to the topic of resilient and sustainable urban logistics. Once a month, we suggest articles, insights and studies of particular interest to the topics related to the project, with the aim of increasing knowledge related to the topics, and stimulating debate and knowledge exchange, which are essential ingredients for the achievement of our project goals.
This month’s focuse is: Do tight delivery windows really make urban logistics more sustainable?
As #eCommerce continues to grow, customers increasingly expect fast and flexible #deliveries, often with narrow delivery time windows. But while these services improve convenience, they can also generate significant environmental, economic and social impacts across urban logistics systems.
The study “𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁-𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗔 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀” by 𝗜𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗮́𝗹𝗲𝘇-𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗼, 𝗝𝘂𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼-𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮́𝗻 and 𝗝. 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼-𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼, published in the Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management (2025), analyses how delivery time windows affect the three pillars of sustainability in last-mile logistics.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?
👉 Narrow delivery time windows increase route complexity and delivery distances
👉 More constrained deliveries lead to higher emissions, congestion, fuel consumption and operational costs
👉 Time windows can negatively affect drivers’ working conditions by increasing pressure and reducing flexibility
👉 At the same time, they improve customer satisfaction and reduce failed deliveries by offering more delivery certainty
👉 Intermediate solutions — such as limited delivery windows based on historical demand data — may offer the best balance between sustainability and service quality
The research introduces a practical “scoreboard” methodology integrating 18 sustainability indicators across economic, environmental and social dimensions, helping retailers and logistics operators evaluate the real impact of different delivery strategies.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴?
Because it shows that improving urban logistics sustainability is not only about faster deliveries, but about finding the right balance between operational efficiency, environmental performance and customer expectations.
The MED COLOURS project works in the same direction, supporting innovative and sustainable urban logistics solutions across six European cities (Livorno, Cesena, Thessaloniki, Koper, Lisbon, and Lyon) through pilot actions and SULPs focused on reducing congestion, emissions and inefficiencies in urban freight systems. Our goal? To help cities and logistics stakeholders design smarter, more resilient and people-centred delivery systems that balance sustainability with service quality.
