Sweden is taking a leading role in the e-commerce of the future

E-commerce has been growing steadily for a long time and during the pandemic has grown faster than ever. The opportunities and benefits are many, but at the same time there are challenges that must be solved. Goods must be able to be transported and delivered sustainably, efficiently and safely. Vinnova is now financing an effort that brings together a number of stakeholders from different sectors with the common goal that every e-commerce delivery should be sustainable and contribute to a vibrant society.

- Today, many good efforts are made in the area of e-commerce, but there is a lack of pooling of forces to accelerate and direct innovation that can have a broad impact on change in society. This effort will remedy this, by giving both muscles and the mandate to quickly start efforts to address the gaps that are identified, says Märta Ghajar Amirnezami, programme manager at Vinnova.

It is the collaboration arena CLOSER at Lindholmen Science Park and the research environment ReLog at Lund University that will be commissioned to establish a collaboration platform and a knowledge center for sustainable e-commerce logistics. The initiative extends over 2021-2024 and will bring together government agencies, municipalities and regions, academia and interest groups together with, among others, goods owners, transport buyers, retailers, logistics players, property owners, tech companies and startups.

- It is very gratifying that CLOSER & ReLog has received funding to develop the rapidly growing e-commerce area. New eligibility requirements are set for both business and public activities and for Gothenburg this is an important initiative that partly focuses on the e-commerce impact on the cityscape, says Magnus Jäderberg, freight traffic manager at the traffic office in the city of Gothenburg, who is a partner in the initiative.

The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency is also looking forward to a valuable collaboration in the coming years.

- The letter and parcel market is changing and needs to become more integrated with other transport and goods flows. More collaboration is therefore needed between the postal sector and other sectors of society. Against this background, project like this are of great importance for new user-friendly and sustainable delivery solutions, says Emma Maraschin, head of the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency's department for postal issues.

The idea is that new partners will be added during the course of the investment, all with the aim that this collaboration will drive innovation in e-commerce and create integrated, sustainable delivery solutions. From the start, CDON, Consid, Freelway, Greencarrier, City of Gothenburg, City of Helsingborg, Ljusdal municipality, the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency, the City of Stockholm, Systembolaget and the Swedish Transport Administration participate as partners.

- For Vinnova's part, we are very expectant of, in addition to our role as financier, also actively participating and supporting the investment in various ways as a partner, says Märta Ghajar Amirnezami.

Background

In 2020, Trafikanalys reported the results of the government assignment How can e-commerce transportation become more sustainable?. One of the recommendations in the report is the need for strategic collaboration between private and public actors.

In parallel, Vinnova has identified e-commerce and retail as a key area in the mission work that has been going on in recent years. To create a clear picture of the current situation regarding e-commerce in Sweden, the Vinnova project Future's sustainable e-commercewas initiated, led by CLOSER and ReLog. There, a strong need for a common continuation was identified. The project established the importance of a national pool of forces that takes a holistic approach, increases knowledge and coordinates and accelerates innovation in e-commerce to achieve positive system effects that contribute to change.

The new investment starts in August 2021 and is financed by Vinnova with a budget of a total of SEK 9 million. SEK 6 million of this is earmarked for collaborative projects with the objective funding for large-scale innovation projects within the framework of the investment.

Do you want to be involved and get involved as a partner? Contact Josephine Darlington at CLOSER or Daniel Hellström at ReLog.