The growing popularity of the urban lifestyle is making new demands on e-tailers – and raising the possibility of gridlock for logistics providers.

When it comes to delivering e-commerce orders within big cities, the last mile is always the toughest one to navigate. And the problem is only getting worse, as more people choose to live in crowded downtown areas. Their demands for one- or even same-day service are putting intense pressure on logistics providers. One answer is to locate warehouses closer to buyers, but that decision involves some major tradeoffs. On this episode, we cover the topic of urban logistics with Andrew Chung, chief executive officer of Innovo Property Group. IPG is opening a million-square-foot warehouse in the heart of the Bronx. Such a project is necessary to serving urban customers, Chung believes, but it requires a lot of space, along with innovative strategies for offsetting the higher cost of delivering within cities. Can total gridlock be avoided? Hosted by Bob Bowman, Managing Editor of SupplyChainBrain.

Look for a new episode of the podcast, which can be downloaded or streamed, every Friday on the SupplyChainBrain website and iTunes.

Show notes:

An article by Deloitte: “Why Urban Fulfillment Centers?”