Logtrade x HAVI x Scania
Sustainable off-peak deliveries with HAVI, Scania and McDonald’s
How our Connected Goods service helped global food distributor HAVI increase delivery efficiency by 30% and lower emissions.
Challenge: Create a sustainable last-mile ecosystem
Urban congestion is on the rise, and the current forecast is not sunny. Demand for last-mile urban delivery is booming, and city streets are likely to see 36% more delivery vehicles by 2030. [1] For fleet operators, every minute of congestion means lost revenues. More dramatically, every resident in the world’s top 100 cities will need to add 11 extra minutes to their daily commute – that means 47 more hours in traffic per year. [2]
Solving urban congestion is, in part, a logistics challenge, and the last-mile ecosystem is being called on to develop responsible multi-stakeholder solutions.
To tackle these issues, Logtrade Technology collaborated with supply chain partner HAVI and Scania in a project called HITS (Sustainable Integrated Transport Systems). The test case: delivering to McDonald’s restaurants in the city center. Together with our project partners, the goal was to bundle our digital logistics and operational expertise to automate flows for maximum efficiency and sustainability. As a result, we would help HAVI and McDonald’s meet emissions reductions targets and lower costs – while cutting down on congestion.
Approach: Enable unmanned nighttime deliveries
After exploring the challenges through a design thinking lens, we hit on an unconventional solution: deliver by night and without restaurant staff standing by. HAVI would deliver to McDonald’s restaurants using Scania vehicles, which already complied with Stockholm’s nighttime noise ordinances and had been used in previous off-peak trials. Now the challenge was to take the next step toward automation with unmanned off-peak deliveries.
What Logtrade added to the equation was an interoperable data-sharing platform that would automate the flow of goods and enable unstaffed receiving. The platform has since been developed into a service called Connected Goods. It is an open-access platform that gathers data from different sources, such as trucks, ERP systems, smart locks, alarm systems, and sensor data and stores all data in a structured environment.
In the past, creating such an integrated logistics ecosystem would have required dedicated APIs. Even so, the goods in the network would still have been circulating in a black box. Logtrade set out to change that by creating a standardized system with a universal language. Connected Goods revolves around the products to be moved, giving them a unique identity and a way to communicate with other assets in their network via sensors. Requirements for users are minimal and involve installing a gateway for trucks and restaurants, as well as connecting products to sensors to track and automate shipments. Robust data on inventories, locations and lead times are always available – in real time.
1. Connect
All data producers and consumers plug into Connected Goods, giving supply chain stakeholders a common data-sharing channel.
2. Arrive
HAVI drives battery electric trucks to the unmanned receiving docks after hours.
3. Verify & access
When the right goods and right truck arrive at the right restaurant, they generate a one-time digital key that opens a smart lock and switches off an alarm.
4. Deliver
The driver gains secured access to the drop-off point and can unload goods without distractions, or waiting on restaurant personnel, before continuing their journey.
Outcome: Efficient, sustainable food deliveries and a future-proofed supply chain.
Connected Goods supported HAVI in taking full control of their flows. Because shipments occurred after hours, HAVI’s drivers could simply drop off goods without waiting on personnel to leave their post and then verify orders. By taking the delivery trucks out of daytime traffic, Scania’s battery-electric vehicles (BEV) could have a longer range and deliver more goods, ensuring more sustainable tours. Finally, for McDonald’s, ensuring a secure, unmanned solution eliminated the need to have restaurant staff standing by at night.
Providing a window into goods flows also meant McDonald’s could gain access to virtual stock and plan production better. Connected Goods allows products to communicate all types of data, from cold chain data to supply chain events, with other assets in the network. The service allows assets and systems to connect autonomously, permitting end-to-end visibility for all players who opt into data sharing. Product-level visibility also paves the way for predictiveness and circular goods flows.
With Connected Goods, there are multiple benefits for partners, their customers, and city residents, ranging from better business to significant gains for the environment and urban communities.
- Up to 30% more efficient deliveries compared to daytime transport [3]
- Reduced headcount for McDonald’s due to unmanned deliveries.
- End-to-end visibility for supply chain optimization and better planning
- Minimal conversion of existing assets and infrastructure
- Less traffic and congestion in the city center – with major potential to scale.
- Cleaner air and quieter transport for residents thanks to electric fleets.
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[1] World Economic Forum (2020). The Future of the Last-Mile Ecosystem.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Jabarkhel, I. et al. (2022). Realizing Unmanned Off-peak Deliveries. Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2022) 000–000.
“We definitely believe that transport in the inner city will be fully electrified! Probably within five to ten years.”
Ulf Ceder
Future Transport Ecosystems, Scania
“We have seen many positive effects so far, most importantly addressing the noise issue.”
Camilla Eklöf
Kvalitets- och miljöchef, HAVI
“We are a big player in the restaurant industry and I think we have a big responsibility. When we work together with others, things can happen!”
Henrik Nerell
Miljöchef & pressansvarig, McDonald’s Sverige
Products used
All products are compatible with the Logtrade Data Sharing Platform and help solve supply chain challenges, or we work together to develop new solutions.
