Omniva, an international technology and logistics group, has opened its first MicroHUB in Tallinn, a pilot it says is intended to cut van journeys in the city and help parcels reach customers faster while supporting greener urban logistics.
The hub is a specially adapted container fitted with security systems and located inside a courier's delivery area. Couriers can pick up additional parcels during their rounds instead of making a lengthy round trip to a sorting centre, which the company says allows it to use more cargo bikes rather than vans for parcel deliveries.
Timetable and next steps
Omniva expects the first results within a month and will use them to determine the next steps. In the following phase the company plans to test parcel collection from the MicroHUB with Crowd Delivery couriers. If the pilot is successful, it intends to introduce more MicroHUBs in Tallinn and a similar solution in Riga, Vilnius and Kaunas.
Company estimates
Hannes Falten, head of delivery innovation at Omniva, said initial estimates suggest a MicroHUB could save each courier up to three hours a day and allow them to serve around 20 additional customers. He described the approach as an opportunity to handle growing parcel volumes without putting more vans on city streets, and as a move towards what he called smarter logistics with a smaller environmental footprint.
Falten added that the first hub also has a creative side: its exterior was painted by the team of street artist S-Boy to bring more colour and character to the neighbourhood. The time savings and customer numbers cited are the company's own initial estimates; operational effects are still to be measured in the pilot.