France Supply Chain by Aslog awards its Prize for the Best Article in Sustainable Supply Chain to 3 researchers who are looking into the Last Mile issue

Since 2022, France Supply Chain collaborates with the International Association for Research in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (AIRL-SCM) in order to reward a scientific publication bringing a significant contribution in the field of the sustainable Supply Chain. This year, a study on urban delivery was chosen. Thanks to real data from 600,000 operations carried out over 2 months in the city of Paris, the 3 authors compare and reveal that cargo bikes are more profitable than electric light utility vehicles.

A rigorous demonstration of the economic viability of cargo bikes for urban logistics

The Prize for the best paper in sustainable supply chain is a project led by the Lab SupplyChain4Good of France Supply Chain and the AIRL-SCM. For the 2023 edition, the association collected 11 applications and selected the paper of Antoine Robichet (Gustave Eiffel University), Patrick Nierat (École des Ponts ParisTech) and Francois Combes (Gustave Eiffel University). On April 5, the winners received €2000 for their publication in the Transportation Research Record.

The title of the winning paper is: "First and Last Miles by Cargo Bikes: Ecological Commitment or Economically Feasible? The Case of a Parcel Service Company in Paris". It looks at the financial impact of the cargo bike delivery model and in particular its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Data provided by an international logistics service provider was also used to define the conditions that must be in place for the scheme to be relevant.

A prize to develop collaboration between the academic and professional worlds

The idea of this contest was born from the merger of two associations of logistics and supply chain management. The first one gathers French-speaking researchers (AIRL-SCM), the other one professionals and schools (France Supply Chain), but both are convinced of the necessity of a dialogue and common actions to make Supply Chain a lever towards a sustainable world.

This award concerns teachers-researchers who have published an article in French or in English and whose results can have an impact via a practical application or by its potential to influence decisions in companies or in public organizations. The innovative nature of the research is also a criterion dear to the organizers. As a proof of the privileged relationship between practitioners and scientists, France Supply Chain presented its prize during the 20th anniversary of the AIRL-SCM.

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