Delaying parcel delivery can shrink delivery fleet by 20%
Amsterdam If a quarter of consumers are willing to wait a little longer for their parcel, the number of delivery vans on the road could be reduced by nearly twenty percent. This is the outcome of scientific research by the University of Groningen into Wuunder’s shipping solution GreenChoice and the impact of spreading parcel deliveries more evenly throughout the week. Fewer vans not only means less traffic on peak days, but also a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions (7.5%) associated with the production and use of vehicles.
The study shows that the environmental impact of parcel delivery is not determined solely by emissions while driving. In particular, the number of vehicles needed to handle peak volumes plays a major role. By spreading deliveries more evenly across the week through deferred shipping and relieving peak days, fewer vehicles are required on the busiest days. Those peaks arise because sixty percent of orders are placed over the weekend, packed on Monday and delivered on Tuesday. On Tuesdays, many people are at work and therefore not at home for the courier.
Fewer delivery vans on the road
National-level research by the University of Groningen shows what this could mean in practice for carriers. For a major carrier with more than 40% market share, spreading deliveries can lead to an average fleet reduction of 20.5%, equivalent to around 1,750 fewer delivery vans. For a smaller carrier with roughly 5% market share, the reduction is 20.4%, equating to nearly 200 fewer vehicles.
Next-day delivery?
The researchers compared two logistics strategies for deferred deliveries: concentrating parcels on a single delivery day versus spreading deliveries over multiple days. Concentration actually increases peaks, meaning carriers temporarily need a larger fleet to deliver all parcels on one day. By spreading deliveries, peaks are smoothed out and the same delivery capacity can be achieved with a significantly smaller number of vehicles.
Jeroen Gehlen, co-founder of Wuunder: “When people think about sustainable delivery, many immediately think of switching to electric vans. This research shows there is another lever we can pull: by spreading parcel flows more intelligently, we can reduce the size of the Dutch delivery fleet. We expect this will deliver supply chain-wide cost savings of tens of millions of euros per year. Earlier research already showed that 88% of consumers are open to this: they want to decide for themselves when their parcel is delivered, especially if it is the more sustainable choice. With Wuunder GreenChoice, which lets consumers choose a greener delivery moment in the checkout, we make it easy for online retailers to turn that preference into concrete action. This helps align customers, webshops and carriers, and reduces delivery peaks. We see a major opportunity for the sector to work together and realise these efficiency gains.”
Marith Zeelenberg, researcher at the University of Groningen: “Our analysis shows that with Wuunder’s GreenChoice, where shipments are spread more evenly across all days, the same number of parcels can be delivered with a significantly smaller fleet. This not only reduces pressure on delivery capacity, but also has a clear impact on the overall environmental footprint of parcel delivery.”
About Wuunder & GreenChoice
Wuunder is a Dutch SaaS shipping platform with 60 employees, operating in the Benelux and Germany. It helps e-commerce companies, retailers and brands organise shipping more intelligently, faster and more sustainably, with access to multiple carriers and real-time insight. Wuunder GreenChoice allows customers in the checkout to choose a more sustainable delivery moment, enabling smarter consolidation of deliveries and reducing CO₂ emissions. More information: www.wuunder.com.
About the collaboration with the University of Groningen
Over the past eighteen months, PhD candidate Marith Zeelenberg, supervised by Associate Professors Paul Buijs and Onur Kilic, has carried out scientific research with Wuunder into Wuunder GreenChoice.
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