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Challenges and opportunities for urban foodservice logistics

Dutch city centers are becoming increasingly crowded, not just with people, bicycles, and scooters, but also with delivery vans and trucks. This is especially noticeable in the foodservice industry, where vehicles come and go constantly. And yet, many of these trips could easily be consolidated or even avoided. So why isn’t that happening?

Everyone works in isolation

Everyone in the foodservice chain is working hard, but mainly for their own interests. Restaurant owners focus on purchase prices, wholesalers on margins, and suppliers on service levels. What often goes unnoticed are the costs (and impact) of all trips.
Logistics costs are rarely transparent. For restaurant owners, they’re hidden in the total price. Small suppliers may not know the exact figures themselves. Wholesalers? They often treat logistics as a competitive advantage and avoid sharing too much.

Did you know? In 2018, Amsterdam’s hospitality industry alone saw about 50,000 deliveries per week. That’s approximately 378,000 trips annually, around 1,200 per day.

Source: The Food Research Company report “Foodservicelogistiek in dichtslibbende binnensteden”

Collaboration? Easier said than done

Consolidating deliveries makes sense. Yet it rarely happens. Large players don’t want to share customer relationships. Small suppliers fear losing clients if they ride along with wholesalers. Add concerns about food safety, cost-sharing, and data ownership, and collaboration becomes even more complex. Municipal initiatives often fail, they’re costly, labor-intensive, and lack understanding of how the foodservice chain really works.

Now add electric vehicles into the mix

The shift to electric transport adds another layer of complexity. Small and mid-sized players face a dilemma: should they invest in electric vehicles themselves or partner with a logistics provider?
This decision also affects restaurants. Fewer trips mean smarter purchasing and better internal processes, something not every entrepreneur is eager to deal with, no matter how logical it may seem.

So what could actually work?

The key lies in visibility and trust. Only when everyone understands the true cost of a delivery, in money, time, and CO2 emissions, can change take place. When data can be shared securely and fairly, stakeholders become open to collaboration. When trips are clearly visible, planners, drivers, and customers can anticipate disruptions more effectively. This is where technology steps in.

How Simacan helps

At Simacan, we work on these issues daily. Our platform provides real-time visibility into transport, vehicle locations, ETAs, and delays. Smart analytics show where time, trips, and costs can be saved. And secure data integrations allow for collaboration without sacrificing data ownership. We help suppliers, wholesalers, logistics providers, and restaurant owners make smarter decisions. Not because they have to, but because it pays off.
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