Planzer, a Swiss logistics company, and Loxo have launched their first joint pilot project, the ‘Dynamic Micro Hub’, in Bern, Switzerland. Through it, the companies aim to pair their experiences in logistics and technology to scale city logistics, drive sustainable transport in Switzerland. The project will likewise receive support from the City of Bern, Bozzio AG, Bosch AG, SwissMoves, Noviv Mobility AG and SAAM.
The Dynamic Micro Hub itself consists of a VW ID.Buzz Cargo Van equipped with LOXO’s Digital Driver navigation software, along with two interchangeable box chassis designed by KYBURZ and Planzer. Over the course of two years, in the city of Bern, this vehicle will travel from the Planzer railway center on Murtenstrasse to 14 different strategic transfer points to aid last-mile distribution.
These points are spread throughout the city of Bern and are connected by a 67-kilometer (41-mile) route network featuring challenging traffic scenarios, sharing the road with bikes and pedestrians along the way. This is where the two interchangeable box chassis containing parcels will be transferred to small electric vehicles and delivered to end customers by Planzer Parcel drivers.
After successfully completing the pilot phase, Planzer and LOXO will look to develop their own service with eight interchangeable box chassis and launch it in other cities across Switzerland. In deploying this future service, the companies are aiming to address growing demands on urban supply chains while ensuring the scalability of their solution. For both companies, this pilot project represents a launch pad for data and dynamics-driven urban city logistics.
Ultimately, the Dynamic Micro Hub is intended to demonstrate how sustainable, autonomous, mobility can help balance and achieve environmental and economic targets. Through it, Planzer is aiming to support the sustainability transformation of local delivery operations and accelerate the achievement of its ‘City Logistics 2028 – dynamism on the last mile’ strategy.
By integrating its Digital Driver software, Loxo is looking to validate its AI-based L4 technology on an urban scale in Swiss cities. The company says that its SaaS solution can be installed in drive-by-wire vehicles and has been developed for the commercial vehicle sector – using virtual mapping to increase its scalability and ensure that operations continue to run quickly and cost-effectively.
