INOVAR NA DISTRIBUIÇÃO URBANA DE BENS, PEQUENAS MUDANÇAS, GRANDES RESULTADOS PARA A CIDADE
REGISTRO DOI: 10.69849/revistaft/ch10202410141330
Miriam Rodrigues Da Costa1
Resumo
O artigo conceitual nos convida a refletir sobre como a inovação nem sempre requer grandes investimentos ou revoluções tecnológicas, às vezes, as mudanças mais transformadoras surgem de ideias simples. É na simplicidade que muitas vezes encontramos o maior potencial de mudança. Implementações como otimização de rotas, reorganização de cronogramas de entrega ou uso de bicicletas elétricas. Demonstram que soluções acessíveis podem transformar a logística urbana. Esses pequenos, mas modestos passos, trazem grandes benefícios e contribuem para a sustentabilidade. Assim como, a capacidade de reimaginar nossos processos, reutilizando o valor estratégico dos recursos que já possuímos, é ver o familiar com novos olhos, reaproveitando o conhecido para criar algo extraordinário. A verdadeira inovação não pode florescer isoladamente. É aqui que a colaboração público-privada se torna importante. Embora as empresas possam liderar esses esforços, o apoio do setor público é a maneira direta de criar novas oportunidades. Quando unimos forças, geramos um ecossistema de mudança que nos permite integrar esses pequenos avanços. Consideramos que a inovação não é apenas para poucos, todos nós temos o poder de gerar grandes resultados a partir de pequenas mudanças.
Abstract
The conceptual article invites us to reflect on how innovation doesn’t always require huge investments or technological revolutions. Sometimes the most transformative changes come from simple ideas. It is in simplicity that we often find the greatest potential for change. Implementations such as optimizing routes, reorganizing delivery schedules or using electric bicycles. They show that accessible solutions can transform urban logistics. These small but modest steps, bring great benefits and contribute to sustainability. Likewise, the ability to reimagine our processes, reusing the strategic value of the resources we already have, is to see the familiar with new eyes, reusing the known to create something extraordinary. True innovation cannot flourish in isolation. This is where public-private collaboration becomes important. While companies can lead these efforts, support from the public sector is the direct way to create new opportunities. When we join forces, we generate an ecosystem of change that allows us to integrate these small advances. We believe that innovation is not just for the few, we all have the power to generate great results from small changes.
Keywords: Urban Freight Distribution, Innovation, Logistics, Last Mile, Collaboration, Public-Private
Introduction
Cornellá (2010) argues that innovation is the process of creating something new that generates value and improves the competitiveness of an organization or society. It stems from the ability to observe the environment with a different perspective. Multiple definitions can be found in the literature, but they all agree that innovation is a key driver of economic and competitive development. Although these definitions vary in details and nuances, most emphasize the creation of value through innovation, whether in products, processes, or organizational models. Often, when we talk about Urban Merchandise Distribution (DUM), the first image that comes to mind is that of large trucks, warehouses full of goods, or futuristic technologies that only big companies seem capable of implementing. However, innovation does not have to be something distant or inaccessible. In fact, many of the most effective changes in urban logistics have resulted from adjustments that, at first glance, might seem trivial but have produced significant results.
So, the question arises: Is it possible to transform urban logistics without major technological revolutions? The answer is yes. Here’s how these small changes can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and be sustainable. As in other areas of our lives, the small changes we make every day without realizing it can often generate the greatest advances. This is because innovation does not always require cutting-edge technologies; sometimes it starts with a simple idea.
1. Everyday innovation, big results from small changes
It is common to believe that innovation is reserved for large companies or those that can invest huge sums of money in advanced technology. However, if we take a moment to observe, many great advances that have improved our daily lives began with small ideas and adjustments. The same applies to urban logistics. Can a simple schedule adjustment really make a difference? Absolutely. For example, rearranging delivery schedules to avoid peak traffic hours may seem like an obvious solution, but its impact is significant. By avoiding peak congestion, delivery vehicles can complete their routes faster, consume less fuel, and generate fewer polluting emissions. In Barcelona, pilot programs have already been implemented where deliveries are made at night.
Thus, a change that requires no major investments and might seem small at first can have a multiplier effect that benefits everyone. It’s not a matter of installing hyper-advanced systems but of rethinking when and how deliveries are made. So, a small change produces big results. When visualizing the last mile, we imagine large trucks and vans transporting goods through the streets. But is it always necessary to use these large vehicles? This is where electric bicycles come into play. They may seem like a small innovation compared to autonomous vehicles or drones, but they have become a smart tool for distribution companies in urban areas. In everyday operations, many companies are adopting similar measures without realizing that they are innovating. Changing the way things are done, optimizing time and resources, is the essence of innovation, and it doesn’t need to be accompanied by big words or sophisticated transportation.
On the other hand, it’s undeniable that we need technology, but AI is not the answer to everything. Like any other tool, its impact depends on how it’s used. Doubts arise when AI is proposed as a totalizing solution, as if its mere implementation could solve the structural problems of urban logistics. It’s easy to imagine a world where vehicles manage themselves and goods fly into consumers’ hands, but what happens when reality isn’t that simple?
AI, unlike past technologies, does not offer immediate or automatic change. It requires constant adjustments and a deep understanding of the data it processes. This is one of the aspects where its value tends to be overestimated. AI cannot transform a poorly managed logistics system overnight. Companies must make small changes and make decisions based on the local realities of their operations, understanding that AI is, above all, a support tool, not a magic formula. In an increasingly competitive logistics environment, AI offers undeniable advantages, but it also introduces new challenges. Technology is just one part of the equation. The key lies in how organizations choose to adapt and adjust their daily processes. It is not the power of AI that will transform urban logistics, but how its capabilities are harnessed within a complex and constantly changing system.
2. From the street to the warehouse, innovations improving urban logistics
Innovation in urban logistics isn’t limited to improving what’s visible, like fleets or distribution points. The most transformative solutions arise from everyday problems, in the invisible processes that occur within warehouses, on the streets, and in operational routines. It’s not about moving faster, but about creating interconnections, where every small action, whether in the warehouse or on the street, contributes to a more resilient, proactive, and sustainable operation. We can analyze warehouses from two different yet complementary perspectives. First, we can understand warehouses as living organisms, where the streets are arteries through which goods and products flow, keeping the system running. Deliveries and distribution are not the disruptions attacking the process; they are part of a dynamic flow that spans from the streets to the warehouses.
Just as in fashion, where a small change in stitching or design can redefine an entire garment, in urban logistics, it’s the small details that can transform an entire system. In a garment, the invisible stitching, the perfect fit, and the right fabric choice are what make it a desired piece. In urban logistics, it’s the behind-the-scenes adjustments, the efficient inventory management, the smart decisions about location, and strategic planning that make all the difference. In other words, instead of adding more elements to the chaos, effective innovation rearranges the pieces already in play.
The beauty lies in how logistics reinvents itself, just like fashion, where what once seemed like a rigid, structured system can transform into something dynamic, flexible, and capable of adapting to the demands of the urban environment. The future of urban logistics isn’t about expanding warehouse capacity, but rather about maximizing that capacity to act as active drivers of the logistics flow. This dynamic approach turns the city into an ally of distribution rather than a barrier.
En The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990), el autor Michael Porter resalta la importancia de un proceso continuo de innovación para que las empresas mantengan ventajas competitivas en el mercado global. Este enfoque se sustenta en su modelo del Diamante de Porter, que describe cómo interactúan varios factores para impulsar la innovación nacional.1
3. Innovate to avoid disappearing
The future of cities is not built solely with bricks and asphalt, but with decisions. Today, more than ever, sustainability is no longer an option—it has become a strategic imperative for companies operating in urban environments. The question is no longer whether companies should be sustainable; it is about a paradigm shift. Organizations no longer survive solely by generating profits; they must possess other skills to integrate their purpose with the demands of the environment and future generations. In a society seemingly aware of environmental issues, resistance to change is a direct path to obsolescence. Companies that refuse to innovate their operations toward sustainable models are doomed to competitive extinction. Sustainability is a matter of survival, but also an endless source of opportunities for innovation.
As a reflection, it goes beyond using electric vehicles or recycling packaging materials. It involves a deep rethinking of how companies interact with their environment, from the concept and design of the product to the final consumer. For example, a warehouse that optimizes its energy consumption through renewable energy sources reduces its carbon footprint, lowers long-term costs, and creates a virtuous circle between efficiency and sustainability. From this perspective, the response to climate change must transcend political cycles and become a structural commitment, where governments, businesses, and citizens take joint responsibility. Collaboration has the potential to generate innovative circular chains. The key is not in acquiring more, but in making better use of what we already have, breathing life into processes that, until recently, had been invisible. Instead of viewing sustainability as a burden or expense, stakeholders should embrace it as a driver of competitiveness. Today’s consumers value both the products and the practices behind them, and that is where sustainable companies not only survive but lead.
According to the Cotec Foundation for Innovation and based on surveys by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in 2022, technology spending by Spanish companies was significant, primarily concentrated on internal R&D, which accounted for 50.1% of total innovation spending. Additionally, 9.7% of spending was related to external R&D, and the remaining 40.2% was allocated to other innovative activities, including technologies applied to improve production and logistics processes. Catalonia, for its part, accounted for a significant proportion of the total spending, reinforcing its role as a major hub for technological innovation. All of this is commendable, but the reality is that investing in technology does not always guarantee success if it is not accompanied by cultural change within companies and a long-term strategic vision.
Are we investing in technology just for the sake of it, or are we strategically rethinking our structures to create real impact? It is easy to fall into the trap of assuming that more spending equals more innovation, but the issue is far more complex. Change is not linear, and often, companies that allocate large sums to technology fail because they lack a long-term vision that connects that investment with their real needs. Innovation is not just about adopting the latest technology, but about understanding how it can transform the company’s structure, culture, and processes.
This idea aligns with the one presented in the European Union (UE) Green Paper, which highlights that the challenges for innovation in Europe are not only technological but also structural and cultural. The document advocates for the need to reconfigure organizations so that investments in technology are effective and adapt to the operational realities of each entity.
The Green Paper on Innovation published by the European Commission (1995) is a key strategic document for promoting innovation in UE member states. Its main objective is to stimulate debate and establish a comprehensive European strategy that promotes innovation as a driver of economic growth and competitiveness. This report identifies the obstacles that hinder the development of innovation within the European Union and proposes a series of priority actions to overcome them. Its recommendations aim to strengthen the innovative environment, foster collaboration between the public and private sectors, and ensure that the UE remains at the forefront in terms of research, development, and adoption of new technologies.
The green paper defines innovation as:
¨ Innovation is vital. It allows individual and collective needs (health, leisure, work, conditions, transportation, etc.) to be better met. It is also fundamental to the entrepreneurial spirit: every new company is created through a process that is, in the same way, innovative. Furthermore, companies need to constantly innovate if they want to remain competitive. The same applies to countries, which need to quickly transform new ideas into technical and commercial success if they want to maintain growth, competitiveness, and jobs ¨.2
The book has the motion for a resolution (COM (95)0688 – C4-0609/95)
| Develop this guide | |
| Potential of SMEs | Recognition of the positive potential of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in terms of both employment and innovation |
| Reports & Opinions | Based on the report of the Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy, and the views of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Industrial Policy, Social Affairs and Employment, Culture, Youth, Education and the Media (A4-0165/96) |
| Considered: | |
| A. Innovation is key to improving the competitiveness of European industry and is essential for job creation and economic growth. | |
| B. It recognises the interrelationship between innovation and society, which must be taken into account in the formulation of a European innovation strategy. | |
| C. Innovation has beneficial effects at the local level, creating jobs, improving social and working conditions, and expanding consumer choice. It also presents challenges for policymakers. | |
| D. Innovation policy should be integrated into annual employment monitoring, recognising its impact on job creation. | |
| E. Innovation depends on the context in which technology is used, as well as on research and technological development (R+D). | |
| F. Innovative performance depends not only on research institutions or individual companies, but on their degree of interaction with other institutions in a collective system of knowledge creation and use. | |
| G. Efforts to promote innovation with centralized “top down” approaches have generally been unsatisfactory. | |
| H. Public resources can be used effectively to bring together research institutes, government agencies, and industrial organizations in long-term research programs, following a “bottom-up” methodology with high levels of transparency and controllability. | |
| I. Knowledge can only be exploited through “complementary assets” such as production capacities, technology support systems and distribution networks, taking into account the limited capacity of many companies to manage new technologies. | |
| J. Advances in the information society have a positive impact on all aspects of innovation. |
Figura 1: Source – European Union (1996) [3]
Thus, our assessment of the various collaborative initiatives shows that innovation should not be viewed merely as a means to remain competitive. It requires taking on responsibility towards society and the planet. It’s important to understand that it is not just the environment that pushes companies towards sustainability; it is the market structure itself and the evolution of consumers. Today, value doesn’t lie solely in the product or service, but rather in how it is produced, how it impacts the environment, and how it meets the ethical expectations of consumers. The cost of ignoring these demands is high obsolescence is not just technological, but also moral and social.
4. Micro-hubs, centralization to decongest
Micro-hubs, small strategically located distribution centers, offer a direct solution to one of the most critical problems in cities: congestion. By consolidating goods at these points before their final distribution, the adoption of bicycles and electric vehicles is encouraged, facilitating the last mile. The value of micro-hubs doesn’t lie in their physical size but in what they represent: a new strategic vision for the city. In other words, they reshape the way the city interacts with its own flow of goods. Considering that time is limited and space even scarcer, these hubs become the epicenter of logistical decentralization. Rather by decentralizing power, distributing the benefits of the network at a local level. This democratizes access to logistics infrastructure. Small businesses, which were previously excluded from global supply chains due to high logistics costs, now have the opportunity to participate more actively in the market, reducing their entry barriers.
This decentralized approach aligns with joint initiatives like C40 Cities, a prime example of a public-private partnership. The collaborative platform brings together over 100 cities worldwide, committed to urban sustainability. The goal of C40 Cities is to help cities halve their share of global emissions by 2030, in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C. This commitment is based on an inclusive, science-based and collaborative plan, aimed not only at mitigating climate change but also at building healthy, equitable and resilient communities. To achieve this goal, C40 offers participating city mayors the necessary support through various strategies and measures that promote sustainable development and the transition to low-carbon infrastructure and policies. This ecosystem encourages solutions like micro-hubs or electric bicycles, which are becoming the norm for urban freight distribution. Projects like C40 Cities are more than just a platform for exchange; they are innovation laboratories where cities learn, adjust, and refine their logistics models, creating a structure in which small decisions can lead to significant transformations.
In the end, micro-hubs represent something much deeper than a simple innovation. They are an example of how the cities of the future must operate, not through endless expansion, but by optimizing what already exists, making use of every corner, every intersection, and every kilometer in a smarter way. Innovation is not about doing more; it’s about doing better, a change that we can all make.
Conclusions
In an increasingly complex world, innovating can mean cutting through the noise, finding the essence, and focusing on what really matters. Simplifying processes, reducing inefficiencies and optimizing what already exists can be, in itself, a profoundly innovative act. Innovation starts with our action and the process doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. It’s not about reinventing the wheel, it’s about making it turn better. The most effective solutions, the ones that really transform urban logistics, are now within everyone’s reach. What’s needed isn’t more futuristic technology, but a greater willingness to take advantage of what we have, to rethink how we use our resources and give them a new purpose. We should ask ourselves whether, in our race to technology, we are not obsessed with complex answers, complicating what could be solved with simple solutions. An innovative result is the sum of small but strategic decisions that really move the needle.
The democratization of technology risks becoming an idealized concept, where true equality in its use and exploitation is still far from being achieved. However, innovation is not reserved only for those who can afford to invest in big technologies. Nor should it be understood as a unilateral process, it requires constant collaboration between multiple actors, companies, governments and citizens. Innovation, then, is a collective process, where each action, no matter how small it may seem, contributes to a more efficient, equitable and sustainable system. Innovation is not without its errors, but each failure contains clues about what works and what doesn’t. Mistakes allow you to discover unexpected solutions and refine processes, transforming what was previously a limitation into a competitive advantage. So, the challenge is not to use big technology as the only solution, but to recognize the power of small changes in everyday life. Because, at the end of the day, true innovation is one that improves our lives in simple, straightforward and sustainable ways.
Bibliographic references
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1E-mail: mrodrigues0@uoc.edu, ORCID: 0009-0004-4014-8103,
Internacional Relations – Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, UOC- Spain
Master’s degree in D. Logistics – Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, UOC – Spain
Master’s degree in business managements – Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, UOC – Spain