Joint pilot project ‘Planzer – Dynamic Micro Hub with LOXO’
Dietikon, 19 September 2024
On 19 September 2024 in Bern, we launched the innovative ‘Planzer – Dynamic Micro Hub with LOXO’ pilot project, together with the Swiss tech start-up LOXO. Our common goal is to make city logistics in Switzerland’s urban areas more efficient, sustainable and future-proof.
Why city logistics needs to be re-designed
With increasing urbanisation and growing pressure to optimise city delivery chains, the need for intelligent, eco-friendly transport solutions is also rising. The use of vehicles fitted with Level 4 autonomous driving technology (without a driver), in particular, offers huge potential for redefining cargo delivery on the last mile. Against this background, our pilot project with LOXO is a major step towards developing even more modern, low-emission city logistics.
Mathilde – our highly automated micro hub solution
The ‘Planzer – Dynamic Micro Hub with LOXO’ project relies on the use of an innovative, all-electric VW ID. Buzz that is fitted with the specially developed LOXO Digital Driver™ navigation software and two interchangeable chassis. As a tribute to Mathilde Planzer, we have named this vehicle Mathilde. Every day during the pilot project, Mathilde will transport interchangeable chassis containing parcels from the Planzer railway centre on Murtenstrasse to various transfer points in Bern city centre. Here, these interchangeable chassis will be loaded into small electric vehicles and delivered to end customers by Planzer drivers.
A strong partner network
To implement this ambitious project, we have been joined by strong partners: as well as LOXO, we are also working closely with the City of Bern, Bozzio, Bosch, SwissMoves, Noviv Mobility and SAAM. Together, we are using state-of-the-art technologies to make urban supply chains fit for the future.
The future of city logistics
The pilot phase in Bern will last two years. During this pilot phase, the highly automated vehicle Mathilde will navigate a defined 67-kilometre route network that includes 14 strategic transfer points in the city of Bern. Once this phase has been successfully completed, we plan to further develop the solution – with a new vehicle and a larger range of interchangeable chassis – and roll it out in other Swiss cities. Our vision is to make urban logistics as flexible, dynamic and emission-free as possible.
Nils Planzer says:
‘With this pilot project, LOXO and Planzer as innovation partners aim to lay the foundations for sustainable, data-driven city logistics that make urban supply chains more efficient and eco-friendly.’
This project is much more than a technical test run for us – it is a crucial step towards sustainable, forward-looking logistics. Since 1996, we have been using low-emission rail as the primary mode of transport for organising shipments between our urban railway centres in an efficient, eco-friendly way. With Mathilde and the dynamic micro hub concept, we are now taking the next step: we are not only bringing parcels to the railway centre in an environmentally friendly way, but also delivering them directly to recipients’ front doors using Mathilde and small electric vehicles, with almost no emissions.
