Omniva, the international technology and logistics group, has opened its first MicroHUB in Tallinn, a pilot intended to shorten courier rounds and cut the number of vans working in the city.
The hub is a specially adapted container fitted with security systems and placed inside a courier's delivery area rather than at a sorting centre. Couriers on a round can pick up additional parcels there instead of making a lengthy return trip to reload, which the company expects to save time and help parcels reach customers faster.
Because those trips back to a sorting centre are no longer needed mid-round, Omniva says it can use more cargo bikes instead of vans for parcel deliveries, supporting what it describes as greener urban logistics.
First results are expected within a month and will help determine the next steps. In the next phase, Omniva plans to test parcel collection from the MicroHUB with Crowd Delivery couriers.
Hannes Falten, head of delivery innovation at Omniva, said initial estimates suggest a MicroHUB could save each courier up to three hours a day and allow them to serve around 20 additional customers. He said the concept was an opportunity to handle growing parcel volumes without putting more vans on city streets, and a move towards what he called smarter logistics with a smaller environmental footprint.
Those figures are the company's own early estimates and remain to be tested in the pilot. If the trial succeeds, Omniva plans to introduce more MicroHUBs in Tallinn and a similar solution in Riga, Vilnius and Kaunas.
The Tallinn container also has a visible design element: its exterior was painted by street artist S-Boy's team, which Omniva says brings more colour and character to the neighbourhood and gives passers-by something worth stopping to look at.