Dealing with packages : User-centric, sustainable e-shipping innovations that matter to people

Abstract: As e-commerce continues growing, logistics companies are exploring new and different ways for customers to receive and collect their packages. From faster and cheaper home deliveries to package lockers and supermarkets, package flows are probably more visibly present than ever. In this project, user needs regarding e-commerce shipping in city environments were investigated for the purpose of developing user-centric potential service concepts. User needs were researched through qualitative methods as a basis for co-creating service concepts.Technical advancements have enabled many advances within city logistics, but give rise to debates on sustainability and part of a broader discussion on digital services in city environments. The user studies were framed by seeking user-centricity in the midst of the digitalization of cities; and into communication gaps between e-tailers, logistics companies and users asinhibitors of increased sustainability in shipping. This led to seeking increases in user-centricityand possibilities of reducing emissions through potential service concepts that increase users’influence on city logistics. Through the service design process and methods, users were involved in creating prototypes in the project, so called co-creation. Additionally, future-oriented design methods were used to aid co-creating users in contextualizing the work in near-future scenarios. Three potential service concepts were developed, each covering one of the e-commerce shipping process three steps ordering, transit and delivery. The service concepts propose numerous user-centric improvements that could help users save time, fit deliveries into their daily lives, impact emissions, shorten delivery times and distances based on location and preference, and affect logistics services on a local level.