Scaling digital-enabled urban logistics: The Thessaloniki Living Lab experience

The Thessaloniki Living Lab, part of the Horizon Europe URBANE project, explored how collaborative logistics and advanced digital tools can reshape last-mile delivery. It combined a physical pilot - installing shared parcel lockers to consolidate courier trips - with simulations using Thessaloniki’s Digital Twin. The simulations tested the performance of an integrated network of lockers, an Urban Consolidation Centre, blockchain-enabled data sharing, and AI-based routing.

While real-world trials provided operational insights, the simulations showed potential reductions of up to 90% in CO₂ emissions, 82% in delivery distances, and 50% in vehicle use. This hybrid approach supported Thessaloniki’s Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan (SULP) and offers a scalable blueprint for greener, more efficient last-mile delivery in other European cities, adaptable to different governance and infrastructure contexts.

Context

The URBANE project (Upscaling Innovative Green Urban Logistics Solutions Through Multi-Actor Collaboration and PI-inspired Last Mile Deliveries) is a Horizon Europe research and innovation action running from September 2022 to February 2026. Its goal is to help European cities transition toward greener, more resilient last-mile delivery systems by combining advanced digital tools, sustainable mobility solutions and strong stakeholder collaboration.

URBANE works through four Lighthouse Living Labs - Helsinki, Bologna, Valladolid, and Thessaloniki -, which act as real-world testbeds for solutions that can later be scaled and replicated elsewhere.

Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest urban area, was chosen for its strategic role in urban and regional logistics. The city has a dense and complex urban fabric, with mixed land uses concentrated in its historic centre, where residential, commercial and educational activities coexist. 

Like many EU cities, Thessaloniki faces growing challenges in last-mile delivery. The rapid growth of e-commerce has increased the volume of deliveries and intensified demand for faster, more personalised services such as click-and-collect and home delivery. Logistics providers face pressure to meet these expectations while navigating narrow streets, limited kerb space, and fragmented delivery schedules. The result is a highly complex and inefficient system that strains both the city’s and the logistics providers’ infrastructure, as well as the overall quality of life..

To address these pressures, the Thessaloniki Living Lab (September 2022 to August 2024) tested and co-created two use cases:

• An innovative micro-hub delivery system based on a collaborative parcel locker network designed to consolidate deliveries and reduce redundant trips by multiple couriers.
• A dynamic Urban Consolidation Centre (UCC) to optimise freight flow into the city centre, improving vehicle utilisation and reducing congestion. 

Both use cases used advanced digital tools, such as digital twins for scenario simulation, AI-based routing for efficient delivery planning, and blockchain for real-time data sharing and smart contracts between stakeholders.

This case study shows how multi-stakeholder collaboration - bringing together local authorities, logistics operators, technology providers, and research institutions - can drive sustainable and resilient urban logistics.  By combining technological innovation with operational expertise, the Thessaloniki living lab developed solutions that address both societal needs and business goals.

The insight from the Living Lab fed into the Regional Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan (SULP). It supported scenario building, joint assessments with stakeholders and measurable target setting for the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki. The Lab provides a blueprint for other cities seeking to balance e-commerce growth, congestion and sustainability.

In action

The Thessaloniki Living Lab centred on two complementary use cases (UCs). Insights from UC1 fed into the simulation of UC2. 

• UC1: Installation of a micro-hub delivery system based on a collaborative parcel locker network
• UC2: Simulation of Physical Internet-inspired^[1] last-mile solutions enabled by an Urban Consolidation Centre (UCC). 

Together, these interventions aimed to demonstrate how digital innovation, operational optimisation, and collaborative governance can reshape last-mile logistics in dense urban areas.

The first phase involved a comprehensive assessment of baseline processes, documenting the operational practice of last-mile delivery companies active in Thessaloniki. 

UC1 began with the development of a private parcel locker network to improve the efficiency of ACS, Greece’s leading courier company and an URBANE industrial partner. Using the HUMAT-MASSGT model, the project team evaluated demand generated by the network. Based on this insight, they tested an Alliance Locker Network (ALN) - a shared infrastructure installed by private actors in public space, allowing multiple operators to consolidate deliveries and reduce redundant trips.

Image 1: 3D density plot of average daily demand of ACS deliveries

The locker network design relied on ACS data covering a full year of aggregated last-mile operations: covering delivery routes, shipping volumes and customer locations. These were combined with socioeconomic and spatial data such as population distribution, survey results on customer preferences and parcel demand forecasts. This enabled optimised locker placement and a location strategy aligned with expected demand patterns.

Blockchain was integrated into ACS’s locker network to store key service-level events such as order registration, delivery completion, parcel retrieval, and delays or missed deliveries, creating a trusted environment for cooperation between operators.

On top of its existing four lockers, ACS installed 16 more across the city. Operational data from these lockers validated the Alliance Locker Network (ALN) concept. This validation also highlighted the seamless integration of ACS’s IT systems with the URBANE blockchain and smart contracts framework, enabling secure, traceable, and automated data sharing between stakeholders. Analytical models, including the Facility Location and HUMAT-MASSGT provided the supporting data required to obtain permission from the Municipality of Thessaloniki for locker placement in public space and justified investment in shared infrastructure. Blockchain event tracking further proved the potential for a fully operational, data-driven last-mile delivery marketplace capable of efficiently managing a complex urban logistics flow.

Image 2: Parcel lockers installed by ACS across Thessaloniki

Building on the results of UC1, UC2 simulated a scenario in which all last-mile operators in Thessaloniki used the ALN and a strategically located UCC to improve efficiency. The Thessaloniki Digital Twin, a virtual replica of the city’s logistics network, enabled risk-free testing of freight strategies under realistic conditions. Scenarios explored the integration of parcel lockers, a UCC, electric vehicles, and cargo bikes, with routes adjusted dynamically based on real-time traffic data. Co-developed with the Region of Central Macedonia (RCM) and ACS, these simulations reflected real operational constraints and illustrated how collaborative planning and digital innovation can deliver scalable, low-emission logistics models.

Strong multi-stakeholder collaboration underpinned both use cases. RCM facilitated licensing for lockers in public space and aligned activities with regional urban development and mobility strategies. CERTH (Centre for Research & Technology in Greece and partner in the project) contributed data integration and modelling and scenario planning expertise. ACS provided datasets and actively tested the adoption of shared lockers and UCC coordination. This co-creation process showed how competition-driven inefficiencies in urban freight can be reduced through collaborative governance.

Results

A key achievement of the Thessaloniki Living Lab was the design and real-world deployment of an optimised parcel locker network for ACS, which also serves as a foundation for future multi-operator collaboration. This network was developed with careful consideration of both business efficiency and public space costs, ensuring its relevance for long-term urban logistics planning. 

In parallel, the dynamic routing models and blockchain solutions introduced in the pilot established new standards of operational efficiency, transparency and trust, enabling robust multi-stakeholder decision-making and secure data exchange.

Through advanced simulations supported by Thessaloniki’s Digital Twin, the Living Lab evaluated the environmental and operational impact of three scenarios.

• Individual Locker Network (ILN): the deployment of 500–600 operator-specific lockers reduced CO₂ emissions by 52.8% and cut freight vehicle deployment by 20.3%.
• Alliance Locker Network (ALN): the use of a shared network of 350–420 lockers, cut CO₂ 68.2% and vehicle use by 40.7%.
• Full Collaborative Model: the most integrated configuration, with shared lockers plus a UCC cut CO₂ by 90%, delivery distances by 82.1%, and freight vehicles by 50%.

Image 3: Three scenarios simulated by Thessaloniki’s Digital Twin – URBANE project 

Beyond the numbers, the Living Lab showed that data-driven decision-making, interoperability, and shared governance models can guide sustainable last-mile logistics planning. RCM and CERTH are now developing the SULP, due to be finalised by January 2026. This plan follows the eight-step approach outlined in the established SULP guidelines. Within this framework, the URBANE Thessaloniki pilot activities are particularly relevant to Steps 4–6, building stakeholder ecosystems and providing evidence-based policies and recommendations that align with regional and municipal objectives.

Challenges, opportunities and transferability

The Thessaloniki Living Lab revealed several challenges and opportunities that are highly relevant to the deployment and potential replication of collaborative urban logistics solutions. 

• Stakeholder coordination. Operators had distinct business models and priorities. At first, ACS was hesitant to join the ALN, as shared infrastructure meant moving away from traditional, proprietary delivery approaches. However, quantitative evidence of efficiency gains and political support for reducing e-commerce impact persuaded ACS to participate. This showed the importance of early stakeholder engagement and flexibility in adopting new practices.
  • The active involvement of RCM and CERTH was decisive, with RCM providing policy alignment and SUMP-driven objectives, while CERTH delivered quantitative modelling and scenario validation to bridge industry needs and public benefit.
• Technical integration. Blockchain, for secure data sharing and smart resource management, was integrated without major IT restructuring, but ensuring interoperability with legacy systems required standardising delivery records and tracking data. Strategic locker placement relied on high-quality socioeconomic, spatial, and logistics data. In cities with limited data availability or fragmented governance, extra preparatory work would likely be needed. Moreover, dynamic routing reduced emissions and improved fleet utilisation but depended on reliable real-time traffic data and telematics.
  • The incremental and staged implementation approach adopted in Thessaloniki mitigated risk and facilitated operator adaptation, offering a useful template for gradual adoption in other urban contexts.
• Transferability. The Thessaloniki model is most applicable to cities with moderate-to-high logistics demand, multiple operators, and supportive institutional frameworks. In places with fewer operators, limited digital infrastructure, or restrictive regulatory conditions, replication would need tailored preparation and potentially a phased introduction.
  • Despite these contextual dependencies, the modular solutions - locker networks, UCC integration, blockchain-enabled data sharing, AI-based routing - offer flexibility for partial or progressive adoption. 

Overall, while outcomes depend on local conditions, Thessaloniki provides a strong reference for advancing greener, more efficient last-mile delivery systems across European urban areas.
 

[1] The Physical Internet (PI) is a concept for open, efficient, and sustainable logistics, where goods are moved, stored, and handled through a network of interconnected hubs—similar to how data travels across the digital internet. It relies on standardized, modular containers and shared transport infrastructure to optimize freight flows, reduce empty runs, and minimize environmental impact.

In depth

Project deliverable:  https://www.urbane-horizoneurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/URBANE_D2.5-Thessaloniki-Demostrator-v1.0.pdf 

Living Lab description: https://www.urbane-horizoneurope.eu/demonstration-cities/lighthouse-living-labs/thessaloniki-greece/ 

Interactive workshop showcasing sustainable last-mile solutions led by city or regional authorities (CIVITAS FORUM 2024): https://www.urbane-horizoneurope.eu/news/urbane-and-the-civitas-initiative-join-forces-to-deep-dive-into-city-led-sustainable-last-mile-logistics-solutions/

Aifandopoulou, G., & Xenou, E. (2019). Sustainable urban logistics planning (Topic Guide). European Commission, Funded by the EU Horizon 2020 NOVELOG project (Grant Agreement No. 636626). Retrieved from https://urban-mobility-observatory.transport.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-11/sustainable_urban_logistics_planning.pdf

Author: Sofia Pechin

Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the European Commission. 

Photo credits © - frantic00, Hryshchyshen Serhii, URBANE Project