We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » It may be last, but it's not really a mile at all ... yet
outbound

It may be last, but it's not really a mile at all ... yet

August 30, 2017
Mitch Mac Donald
No Comments

Perhaps it's a minor point, but in businesses like logistics, it's the small details that sometimes matter most.

Consider the currently-in-vogue term "the last mile." It refers, of course, to the final leg of a product's journey through the supply chain—meaning delivery to the customer—rather than a literal distance. As for why it's getting so much attention, it's all about the need for speed in the new world of order fulfillment. Suppliers' ability to meet customer demands for rapid delivery of orders is highly dependent on that last mile of the supply chain. Nowadays, it's not too much to say that the last mile is where sales are lost or won.

While this is true in many industry verticals, nowhere is the pressure more acute than in retail—and e-commerce, in particular. The time when customers were satisfied to have online orders delivered in two to three days is past. The consumers of 2017 expect next-day delivery. It's probably not much of a stretch to say the consumers of 2018 and beyond will expect same-day service, particularly in urban areas.

That's where so-called "last-mile distribution centers" come in. Sometimes called "last touch" centers, these DCs are generally the final point of distribution for goods before they arrive on customers' doorsteps, according to a report released this summer by real estate and logistics services giant CBRE. And they're fast becoming a thing in metro areas: "Last-mile distribution facilities for e-commerce are popping up in close proximity to the population centers of major U.S. cities, creating a foundation for rapid-delivery service that didn't exist on this scale as recently as a few years ago," the report says.

As for what the researchers mean by "close proximity," we're talking under 10 miles. To be precise, CBRE's analysis of the locations of newer last-mile distribution facilities (those opened within the past two years) in the 15 largest U.S. population centers showed that they are positioned, on average, between six and nine miles from the center of the population areas they serve.

Among other findings, CBRE's study revealed a correlation between population concentration and the length of the "last mile." "Denser cities tend to have shorter average distances, such as the six-mile average in San Francisco and the 6.3-mile average in Philadelphia," the researchers wrote in their report. "Meanwhile, cities that are more spread out have longer averages, such as 7.5 miles in Houston, 8.5 miles in Phoenix, and nine miles in Southern California's Inland Empire."

The report left no doubt as to what's driving the trend. "The close proximity of the last-mile facilities to huge populations of customers facilitates online shoppers' growing expectations of nearly instantaneous delivery of their orders," it noted. "Earlier this decade, goods ordered online often were delivered to customers from much larger facilities much farther away, sometimes in other states."

Also notable is the speed with which this scenario has played out. "These close-in fulfillment centers have proliferated within the past two years, underscoring the need for retailers to have large batches of inventory within 10 miles of most of their customers so they can fulfill orders as rapidly as possible," said David Egan, CBRE's global head of industrial and logistics research, in a press release. "This is an entirely new link in most supply chains that delivers on the promise of fast, super-high-performance delivery."

Indications are, the trend has yet to run its course. "Development of last-mile strategies still is in the early stages, so the average distances in many metros [are] likely to shrink a bit more in the coming years," Egan said in the release. If his prediction pans out, "the last mile" may not be a figurative expression much longer.

Transportation Supply Chain Services Trucking Parcel & Postal Carriers
KEYWORDS CBRE
  • Related Articles

    it may not be perfect, but C-TPAT's here to stay

    it may be a pain in the ass, but you'd be crazy to complain!

    No, a robot will not take your job (but it might change it)

Mitchmacdonald
Mitch Mac Donald has more than 30 years of experience in both the newspaper and magazine businesses. He has covered the logistics and supply chain fields since 1988. Twice named one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the U.S., he has served in a multitude of editorial and publishing roles. The leading force behind the launch of Supply Chain Management Review, he was that brand's founding publisher and editorial director from 1997 to 2000. Additionally, he has served as news editor, chief editor, publisher and editorial director of Logistics Management, as well as publisher of Modern Materials Handling. Mitch is also the president and CEO of Agile Business Media, LLC, the parent company of DC VELOCITY and CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly.

Recent Articles by Mitch Mac Donald

Thought I’d something more to say …

Digital supply chains, circular economies, and a whole bunch of uncertainty

Sorry, folks. This is not normal

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Walmart launches plan to build micro-DCs inside dozens of retail stores

  • Relaxed regulations for drone parcel delivery to take effect in March

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • Increasing Urgency for Vaccine Supplies Drives Launch of New Vaccine Manufacturing Resources on Thomasnet.com

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

Now Playing on DCV-TV

7d82a38f f300 4f37 aac7 93ec8a60c08a

Heads Up: Your CEO Could be Calling!

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
The challenge on the table is how to make the best of a tumultuous transportation market. Watch this video to hear some tips to consider. Check out last week's 2MW: https://blog.tranzact.com/2-minute-warning/note-to-ceos-dont-blame-the-logistics-department OTR with Peter Tirschewell, from the Journal of Commerce...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

  • Shaping Up Last Mile Delivery to Surpass Customer Expectations

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing