Why do some sustainable urban logistics innovations fail? The case of collection and delivery points

Journal article, 2022

Combined with current trends in e-commerce, demand for urban logistic services are putting significant pressure on the environment. While some European examples show that collection-and-delivery points (CDPs) offer a sustainable solution, this is not always the case. This paper explores the mechanisms that support CDPs as sustainable urban logistics innovations while providing viable market offerings. To do so, it analyses a failure case using multiple data sources, such as a consumer survey, interviews and secondary data. Using diffusion of innovations (DoI) theory, the study explains how CDP failed in a developing market setting. Sustainable logistics innovations fail due to both supply chain-related and market-related factors. Significant factors on the supply chain side include network structures, IT integration and diverse value propositions while the market side includes consumer market characteristics, regulations, security issues and convenience of existing alternatives. Important factors for success include looking for horizontal collaboration opportunities, building strong network partnerships with customers and distribution channel actors. CDPs should be positioned as sustainable solutions and complemented with other urban logistics services to diversify the value proposition.