VITORIA-GASTEIZ MOVES TOWARD SMARTER URBAN LOGISTICS: INSTITUTIONS AND LOGISTICS OPERATORS CO-CREATE THE FUTURE OF DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE DATADUM PROJECT
VITORIA-GASTEIZ. – With the aim of advancing toward a more efficient and sustainable Urban Freight Distribution (UFD), the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council and the Mobility Lab Foundation have held a key working session the strategic DATADUM project.
This meeting brought together the true protagonists of day-to-day operations, with the participation of leading local and national logistics operators such as Eraman and SEUR, among others.
Under the premise that “no one is more expert than those who experience it on the streets,” the promoting institutions adopted an active listening approach. The session aimed not to assume needs, but to analyze daily reality alongside those working on the ground in order to design truly useful technological solutions.
Co-creation and shared challenges for last-mile delivery
During the working session, participants addressed several key shared challenges for the development of the project:
- Identification of opportunities for the San Martín Microhub: A map of the city’s logistics system was developed and validated, analyzing in detail how parcels arrive from their origins, are consolidated in this intermediate space, and then distributed using sustainable vehicles such as cargo bikes for last-mile delivery.
- Technological co-creation: In collaboration with the technology company Libelium, as well as SEUR and Eraman, a dynamic session was carried out to design a “wish list” of functionalities. The goal is to develop a platform that provides real-time visibility of both the microhub and the city’s loading and unloading zones.
- The Data Space as a driving force: The session explored how structured information exchange among different logistics and institutional actors is essential to coordinate capacities, anticipate incidents, and ensure that parcels are delivered on time and in proper condition.
Key conclusions and sector insights
The meeting generated a valuable exchange of ideas that will serve as the foundation for the next phases of DATADUM. Among the main takeaways highlighted by participants, three key sector realities stand out:
- The need for standardization and incentives: It was concluded that data standardization and the creation of appropriate incentives will be key factors in encouraging operators to actively participate in the shared consolidation of parcel delivery routes.
- The e-commerce challenge: While e-commerce is driving new and profitable business models, its constant growth and the high volume of shipments pose a major operational challenge for companies, especially due to the limited number of available delivery personnel.
- The rise of convenience points: In response to the challenges of traditional delivery, convenience points (lockers and partner stores) are emerging as an effective and necessary alternative to home delivery.
This working session is not an isolated action, but a fundamental step in building the DATADUM use case. The project, funded by the European Union’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) the “Sectoral Data Spaces” program, is technically coordinated by the consultancy Factual as Technical Office. It aims to position Vitoria-Gasteiz as a benchmark in public-private collaboration for data-driven logistics optimization.