Innovative sustainability and efficiency in deliveries: Mobile locker stations help to avoid traffic disruptions in the city. "CitySnap" reduces traffic, emissions, and costs - focus on customer convenience and efficiency.
The fourth generation of Rinspeed's modular "CitySnap" vehicle shows the way to pilot tests and series production. Mobility pioneer Frank M. Rinderknecht: According to the latest study, every other delivery vehicle is superfluous.
"CitySnap" reduces traffic, emissions, and costs - focus on customer convenience and efficiency
The "CitySnap" proof-of-concept vehicle shows a solution for innovative, sustainable, and efficient delivery that can be implemented at short notice. "Customer Focus" is the Rinspeed motto. The customer - and thus the person - is the focus with all facets. Because Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht is certain: "People want more and more convenience and simplicity, but also sustainability in their lives". This unique delivery solution offers both.
Global online trade - projected to grow by around four percent prior to Covid-19 - has literally exploded in the past fifteen months, with growth rates of 30% and more. The volume of goods and parcels from eCommerce has increased dramatically, today some 3’250 parcels are shipped worldwide every second. There is no end in sight to the exponential growth.
This extraordinary situation calls for modern delivery solutions - preferably contactless, hygienic, and therefore very customer-friendly. With delivery vehicles that independently distribute, place, and collect mobile locker stations, the Swiss powerhouse of ideas Rinspeed is presenting an exciting logistics concept.
The case study of one of the world's leading auditing and consulting firms examined the Rinspeed "CitySnap″ delivery concept in the context of the growing demand for logistics and developments in urban areas. The scenarios show - based on the fifty largest cities in Germany - an impressive savings potential. The use of the ingenious Rinspeed solution reduces the number of delivery vehicles required by up to 50 percent. In addition, this system saves six percent in CO2 emissions - per package! The "CitySnap" also offers considerable savings potential in terms of costs. Compared to conventional parcel delivery, it reduces the expenditure involved by around 17 percent per parcel, a cost advantage that consumers can benefit from. The increased productivity of the employees due to the eliminated time-consuming removal processes more than outweighs the additional costs for the mobile, interchangeable locker stations and the infrastructure.
The previously planned delivery mechanisms on the automated last mile and especially for the extremely important but also extremely critical "handover", i.e. the acceptance of the parcel by the recipient, are unsatisfactory and inefficient. Even drones or intelligent robots will not be able to do this more cost-effectively in the medium term. A just-in-time meeting on the street between recipient and delivery vehicle is unsuitable because traffic and human behavior are exceedingly difficult to predict. If, on the other hand, the vehicle waits until the recipient of the parcel can arrive, the delivery rate falls, and the delivery costs rise accordingly.
So a new system is needed that eliminates the weaknesses of today's delivery system but is also compatible with the future - the "CitySnap". The heart of the vehicle is an aviation-inspired swap system that has been tried and tested in all weather conditions worldwide (PCT patent pending). In the "CitySnap," completely new applications are possible. Among other things, the desired service can now be delivered to the customer quickly and easily, regardless of where the customer is - at home or at work. These can be transportable locker stations that are parked in the vicinity for a certain period so that they are accessible to the customer. "Microhubs" for bicycle couriers, mobile dispensers, or points of sale such as a "mom-and-pop health food store" or nuts and bolts for the construction site are also conceivable. The "CitySnap" is truly multifunctional, and even pallets are no problem.
Limited opening hours, long journeys and the endless and unpleasant courier caravans with the associated environmental and traffic burden are a thing of the past. And by the way: no more unattended shipments and no more theft. Locker stations on wheels, just around the corner. Set up in easily accessible and well-lit locations where end customers can get their parcels at any time in a secure environment. And the best thing about it is: This innovative way of delivering parcels to customers faster and more easily can begin today - with a human driver.
Fully automated driving, a realization as of late, will be a long time coming. That is why the "CitySnap" is initially designed for a human driver. However, the driver’s activity in the delivery of the locker stations is limited to driving. The "CitySnap" with the mobile locker stations is already loaded and unloaded automatically and only takes a few minutes. Later, computers and sensors will take the place of the driver in the self-driving vehicle.
