Theme: Growth 
Industry Adaption: ⚫ ⚫ ⚪ ⚪ Early Adopters 
Impact: ⚫ ⚫ ⚪ Significant 

A 2024 Maersk survey shows that decision makers rank Last Mile Delivery Innovations 7th out of the top 15 trends.

Last-mile delivery innovations are transforming urban logistics, introducing solutions that support decarbonisation and improve efficiency to meet evolving consumer demands. Technologies now used in logistics such as cargo bikes, electric vehicles, drones and delivery robots, aim to enhance efficiency, reduce congestion, and minimise climate impact. With the rapid growth of e-commerce, food delivery and direct-to-consumer (D2C) services, traditional systems struggle with high costs and possible bottlenecks. Last-mile solutions tackle these by optimising routes, decentralising infrastructure, and using alternative transport modes.

The global market for autonomous last-mile delivery is projected to reach 84.9 billion USD by 2030. At the same time, the trend is still at the early adopter stage. Last-mile delivery innovations are driven by economic and sustainability needs. While the majority of deliveries are still carried out by fuel-powered vehicles, autonomous systems are expected to make a substantial impact as they mature. Although still in its initial phase, last-mile delivery innovations are having a significant impact on companies, driving change across industries. Between 2019 and 2023 over 1,000 patents were filed, with 50 considered groundbreaking, showcasing the trend’s transformative potential. Around 2,500 scientific publications underscore its relevance. Despite its promise, it is still in the early adopter stage with initial investment. Solutions such as autonomous delivery are in the test and pilot phase. C-Suite mentions have decreased from 920 in 2022 to 420 in 2024, in this case reflecting a reduced focus from established players. However entrepreneurial activity remains strong, with 80 startups entering the market since 2015.

Top 15 Trends

Share of Key Decision Makers, who consider the trend to be relevant for their company’s logistics 

Last-Mile Delivery Innovations – Relevance by Industry

What are the opportunities? 

Last-mile delivery innovations offer significant benefits for logistics, including faster and more reliable deliveries that enhance customer satisfaction. They reduce climate impact by incorporating options like electric vehicles. They also optimise operational efficiency, making urban logistics more competitive. 

What are the challenges? 

These solutions face hurdles such as high operational costs, scalability issues for technologies (like drones, etc.), and can provoke financial instability for startups. Overcoming these barriers is crucial, to fully realise the potential of these innovations that can transform logistics.

Sources:

• Statista (2022). 
• Survey among 500+ global logistics decision makers across various industries, conducted by Statista for Maersk (Q4 2024). 
• In-depth interviews with global industry experts, academia, and futurists.
• Unstructured web sources with more than 10,000 search term permutations using AI. 
• Curated data from startup databases, patent databases, and analysis tools, as well as Semantic Scholar.