Last Mile, First Priority: How Yandex is Optimizing Urban Logistics
Tags: lastmile, urbanlogistics
Published: 2023-12-06 14:16:21

Navigating the labyrinth of crowded cities is difficult enough without trying to deliver packages along the way. But for companies trying to satisfy demanding urban customers, solving last mile logistics is the holy grail. Now, technology leader Yandex is leveraging its machine learning and navigation expertise to crack the urban delivery code. With self-driving vehicles and delivery robots, Yandex is pioneering innovative new solutions for getting goods the last mile in congested urban environments. In this article, we'll examine how Yandex aims to own the future of efficient, sustainable city delivery.


## Urban Last Mile Challenges

Delivering goods in the last mile poses unique challenges in complex urban areas:

- The high population density leads to increased demand, competition for drivers and vehicles, and congestion on the roads and at delivery points. Customers also tend to order smaller, more frequent batches with tight delivery windows, straining logistics operations.
- Extreme traffic congestion slows delivery times and reduces reliability. This results from insufficient infrastructure, lack of transit options, poor planning, and rising car ownership. Congestion increases fuel waste and emissions, harming the environment.
- Complex road networks with countless intersections, tunnels, bridges, and construction make routing and navigation difficult. Safety issues arise from vehicles sharing roads with pedestrians, cyclists, and other users.
- Massive scale of some cities also magnifies their environmental impact from energy and resource consumption, emissions, and waste. Delivery fleets contribute through fuel use, pollution, noise, and vibration - harming ecosystems, air quality, and public health.

These interrelated challenges drive up costs, frustrate customers, and strain businesses and city infrastructure. Developing innovative solutions is key to overcoming the density and scale of mega cities to streamline the last mile.


## Advances in Urban Delivery by Yandex

Yandex is at the forefront of developing and providing innovative urban delivery solutions. Leveraging its expertise in cutting-edge technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, as well as its self-driving capabilities, Yandex offers a variety of delivery options to connect businesses and customers efficiently.

Through its Yandex Delivery platform, Yandex enables same-day, next-day, or scheduled deliveries by coordinating couriers, taxi drivers and delivery robots. Customers can easily track their orders and enjoy a smooth delivery experience. By integrating with other Yandex services like ride-hailing, e-commerce and food delivery, Yandex Delivery provides a seamless one-stop solution.


Furthermore, Yandex's Self-Driving Group develops autonomous vehicles and robots tailored for delivery uses. Using similar self-driving tech as Yandex's driverless cars, these robots can navigate complex city environments to deliver goods the last mile from transportation hubs to final destinations. With cameras, lidars and radars, the robots can carry diverse items like food, groceries or parcels weighing up to 20kg.

Yandex's urban delivery solutions are engineered to conquer the complexities of massive city environments. Advanced algorithms optimize delivery logistics, reducing costs and emissions. Self-driving vehicles and robots automate the process for maximum efficiency. Real-time tracking and flexible delivery options ensure an excellent customer experience. And through route optimization and electric vehicles, Yandex reduces environmental impact. With innovation tailored for mega cities, Yandex brings efficiency, affordability, and sustainability to the last mile.


Yandex’s urban delivery solutions are not only innovative and efficient, but also collaborative and cooperative. Yandex has partnered with various companies and city governments to improve urban delivery, by sharing data, resources, and expertise.

Some examples of these partnerships include:

- **Joint venture with Hyundai**: Yandex and Hyundai, the leading automotive manufacturer, have formed a joint venture to develop self-driving vehicle platforms for applications like delivery. Together they have created self-driving models like the Hyundai Sonata and the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, which have been tested in various locations, including Moscow, Tel Aviv, and Detroit. They launched a robotaxi service in Innopolis, a Russian city with a tech park and university, where customers can hail a self-driving Hyundai Sonata using the Yandex Go app. The joint venture plans to expand the robotaxi service to other cities and countries in the future.
- **Collaboration with Moscow government**: Yandex and Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia, have worked together to optimize delivery by using Yandex's data and analytics. They created a digital platform for providers to get permits and real-time traffic data. Yandex has also tested delivery robots on Moscow's sidewalks and crossings to deliver goods from their online marketplace, Yandex Market, to customers.


## Yandex's Delivery Solutions: Real-World Examples

Yandex's urban delivery solutions are not just innovative and efficient, but also highly collaborative. Through partnerships with companies and city governments, Yandex improves logistics by sharing data, resources, and expertise. These cooperative efforts have been implemented successfully in large cities worldwide, demonstrating benefits like cost savings, customer satisfaction, and reduced environmental impact.

- **Tel Aviv**: Yandex and its ride-hailing service Yango launched delivery in Tel Aviv, Israel's second most populous and congested city. Yango drivers deliver goods from local businesses like restaurants, pharmacies, and flower shops to customers. This increases driver income and utilization while expanding Yandex's delivery network and coverage. Customers receive faster, cheaper delivery with more options.
- **Belgrade**: Yandex and Donesi.com, Serbia's leading food delivery platform, introduced autonomous delivery robots in growing Belgrade. Customers within two kilometres of over 300 restaurants can receive contactless robot delivery, a European first. It marks a milestone for advanced logistics solutions.
- **Seoul**: Yandex will deploy delivery robots in South Korea with KT Corporation, a major telecom provider of mobile, broadband, AI, and cloud solutions. The 2023 pilot enables food delivery from Seoul restaurants via Yandex rovers. KT's 5G and cloud tech will enable reliable robot communication. It combines Yandex's autonomous tech with KT's connectivity.


## Comparison with Other Urban Delivery Solutions

Yandex faces competition in urban delivery from major players with similar solutions, including:

- **Amazon**: The e-commerce leader operates in 200+ countries, providing fast, flexible delivery through Prime, Fresh, Flex, Key, Scout robots, and Prime Air drones.
- **Uber**: The ridesharing giant enables food, freight, and parcel delivery in 80+ countries through Eats, Freight, Connect, drone, and helicopter services.
- **DHL**: The top logistics provider offers express, standard, and same-day delivery globally through Express, Parcel, Same Day, StreetScooter, and Cubicycle.
- **FedEx**: The air freight leader provides urgent, cost-effective, eco-friendly, same-day, and specialized delivery worldwide through Express, Ground, Freight, SameDay, and Custom Critical.

Yandex's urban delivery solutions share some similarities and differences with competitors in areas like technology, efficiency, cost, and environmental impact.

On technology, Yandex uses machine learning, AI, and self-driving tech comparable to or better than rivals. It also taps couriers, taxis, and robots for delivery, both unique offerings and some shared with others. Integration with other Yandex services is also a potential distinction.

Efficiency-wise, Yandex optimizes routes and adapts to demand changes thanks to algorithms and data analytics. Self-driving vehicles further boost efficiency by removing human limitations. This makes Yandex efficient, though exactly how it stacks up versus competitors depends on the specific market.

Cost-effectively, Yandex reduces fees for businesses and consumers by choosing couriers, taxis, or robots based on affordability for each delivery. Self-driving tech also lowers fuel, maintenance, and labour costs. Improved volume, density, load factors, and vehicle utilization provide additional savings. But cost comparisons to rivals vary.

Environmentally, electric, hybrid, and low-emission self-driving vehicles and robots shrink Yandex's carbon footprint. Route and delivery optimization further reduce congestion, noise, and waste. Again, competitiveness here depends on the particular market.


## Where Urban Delivery is Headed Next

The future of urban delivery will likely be shaped by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, drones, and self-driving vehicles. These innovations can make last mile delivery more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable. They also open new possibilities and challenges around delivery models, customer expectations, regulations, and ethical issues.

Yandex is in a great position to lead this future. With its expertise in machine learning and self-driving tech, Yandex has a clear vision and strategy. The company plans to expand its delivery network, enhance its technology, increase volume and density, and reduce costs and environmental impact. Yandex's ambitious yet realistic goals align with its mission to help consumers and businesses navigate the online and offline world. With its current achievements and market understanding, Yandex can make meaningful progress towards its vision of the future of urban delivery.


## The Last Mile: Yandex's Domain

The last mile is the urban Rubik's Cube of delivery. Navigating dense neighbourhoods and crowded streets makes the final leg a logistical juggernaut. But necessity breeds innovation. Enter Yandex, armed with a high-tech army - self-driving rovers, optimized mapping, machine learning logistics. The company is cracking the last mile code through AI and real-world experience. Packages delivered at blistering speeds, costs plummeting as efficiency climbs. They're conquering the last mile not just for commerce, but community. The road ahead is long, but the path is clear - towards smarter cities powered by Yandex tech that just works.