DHL solicits innovative logistics ideas

The integrated global logistics provider is running a competition to get ideas for logistics practices with a social benefit and an autonomous delivery cart.    Integrated global logistics provider DHL is looking to crowd source ideas for sustainable logistics solutions and robotics.
   The company is holding a competition, open through Sept. 28, to find the best of these ideas, and participants are asked to submit a written document and video explaining their ideas.
   The Deutsche Post company said it wants to find innovative logistics approaches for solving environmental or social challenges that are sustainable and potentially profitable business models. Potential ideas could cover ways to improve the circular economy, using transportation networks to provide fair trade and production, or new packing designs. 
  The aim of the robotics challenge is to develop a prototype of a self-driving delivery cart that can autonomously accompany staff during last mile delivery. 
   “Our colleagues have to deal with an ever-increasing number of parcels that need to be delivered. As our couriers are currently required to manually push this volume through the streets, we encourage concepts that support our employees,” Chief Commercial Officer Bill Meahl said in a statement. 
   The submitted prototypes need to be able to traverse typical urban and rural landscapes at walking-speed while at the same time carrying parcels. 
   After submission, entries will be reviewed in a pre-selection process based on their functionality, potential to solve the given problem and its perceived commercial feasibility. Following pre-selection, a panel of logistics experts will select three finalists of each challenge, who then have the chance to present their idea or prototype in front of 180 senior supply chain professionals at the DHL Innovation Day on November 17.
   For each challenge a winner will be awarded during a live-voting process. The highest numbers of votes are awarded as winners of the DHL Innovation Challenge, receive a monetary prize out of a pool of combined 20,000 euros, and display their idea at the DHL innovation Centers in Troisdorf/Germany and Singapore. In addition, DHL will invite the winners to discuss opportunities to materialize their ideas into a joint proof of concept.