Omniva, an international technology and logistics group, has opened its first MicroHUB in Tallinn. The facility is part of an effort to reduce van journeys in the city and to support greener urban logistics.
The hub is a specially adapted container equipped with security systems and placed within a courier’s delivery area. Omniva says the location allows couriers to collect additional parcels during their rounds without making a lengthy trip back to a sorting centre.
That change is expected to save couriers time and help parcels reach customers faster. It also allows Omniva to use more cargo bikes instead of vans for parcel deliveries, according to the company.
Pilot to test new routines
The first results from the MicroHUB are expected within a month and will help determine the next steps. In the next phase, Omniva plans to test parcel collection from the hub with Crowd Delivery couriers.
If the pilot is successful, the company plans to introduce more MicroHUBs in Tallinn and a similar solution in Riga, Vilnius and Kaunas. Those locations remain plans rather than confirmed rollouts and depend on the outcome of the Tallinn trial.
Company estimates time savings
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.
Falten described the hub as a way to handle growing parcel volumes without putting more vans on city streets. He said the company wants to move towards smarter logistics with a smaller environmental footprint. These are initial estimates and stated ambitions, not confirmed results from the pilot.
The first MicroHUB also has a creative element: its exterior was painted by street artist S-Boy’s team to bring more colour and character to the neighbourhood and give passers-by something worth stopping to look at.