Yannick Aliet
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How the demand of e-grocers for distribution centers could lead to urban land-use conflicts in the Amsterdam agglomeration
There is a growing interest for online supermarkets services in The Netherlands. First because of the development of the online grocery market, and because of a surge due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the growth of the online grocery market looks to be accompanied by a growth of urban distribution centres occupied by online supermarkets. Subsequently, this growth of urban distribution centres has looked to be accompanied by nuisances for other urban actors. There are 18 different types of online supermarkets which are located within the Amsterdam agglomeration. These 18 different types of online supermarkets show to have heterogeneous characteristics. Since they offer different value to their customer regarding the service which they deliver such as delivery time and delivery costs and products, such as assortment sizes. In addition, they show to have different market shares. Consequently, these online supermarkets also show differences regarding the way that they structure their last mile distribution network. Resulting in five different types of last mile distribution structures. As such, online supermarkets make use of four different types of urban distribution centres: e-fulfilment centres, urban hubs, postal fulfilment centres and dark stores. Three of these urban distribution centres are located on business parks whilst one of these urban distribution centres is in more highly dense residential/retail areas. Therefore, this has indicated a dichotomy, in which online supermarkets of next day deliveries look to make use of e-fulfilment centres, urban hubs and postal fulfilment centres, based on their business strategy and market shares. And in which online supermarkets who make use of same day deliveries make use of dark stores. This spatial demand for urban distribution centres has led to five different types of urban land-use conflicts which are based on conflicting interest between online supermarkets on one side, and other land-use actors on the other side. This has therefore indicated how the last mile distribution structures of online supermarkets are embedded in space. For which their spatial decisions can lead to urban issues, and how this spatial decision can in its turn affect last mile distribution structures of online supermarkets.
Vincent Buurma, MADE Student, AMS Institute