Citizen Cooperative-based Distributed Logistics System
ALTERNATIVE MACHINE
Citizen Cooperative-based Distributed Logistics System, 2017
The "Citizen Collaboration-based Decentralized Logistics System" aims to create an alternative logistics system that captures the daily movements of each citizen, such as commuting and going to school, as a logistics network, realizing the movement of goods through people's cooperation, and inducing encounters between individuals.
The existing logistics system focuses on delivering goods in large quantities, quickly, and at a low cost. Should all logistics be like this? For example, with a large number of unread books at home, is it really necessary for a purchased book to arrive the next day? There must be other items that don't need next-day delivery and could be fine with delivery within a week.
The existing logistics business model depends on the volume of circulation. Naturally, as the number of people sending decreases, so does the volume of logistics. With the decreasing population, especially in depopulated areas, railway abandonment and the discontinuation of bus routes are progressing due to unprofitability. Similarly, the downsizing or withdrawal of logistics companies is also being considered.
In fact, the cost of individual home delivery in regional cities is increasing, beginning to affect the local economy. If logistics companies withdraw, delivery costs will dramatically increase, and it will be unavoidable that small-scale farmers and other small businesses will be severely affected.
To break away from the existing paradigm and explore a new logistics system to solve the last-mile problem of individual delivery, such as increased costs due to population decline, a joint research project was conducted with Denso Corporation. Nayoro City in Hokkaido, which was designated as a depopulated area in 2002, has experienced a population decline and an increase in railway abandonment, and was chosen as a model city due to its awareness of logistics issues.
Interviews were conducted with the mayor of Nayoro City, logistics companies, and citizens. At the same time, simulations were created and theoretical verification was carried out to determine whether it was possible to reach the target point from the random movements of multiple people. Ultimately, the behavioral data of 11 people, mainly university students in the city, were collected for two months, and an analysis of their movement routes and activity times was conducted.
By opening up the usual activities of many people to others through technology, there is the potential to solve problems in the local community. The hope is that it will not only serve as a means to transport goods but also create opportunities for communication, leading to the revitalization of local communities.
「市民協働型分散物流システム」は、通勤や通学など市民一人ひとりの日々の動きを物流ネットワークとして捉え、人々の協力によりモノの移動を実現するとともに、人と人との出会いを誘発するオルタナティブな物流システムを目指している。
既存の物流システムは、大量に早く安く送ることが大命題となっている。全ての物流がそうあるべきなのか？例えば、自宅に積読されている本が大量にある中、購入した本が翌日に届く必要が本当にあるのか？その他、翌日配達でなくとも1週間後でも良いものもあるはずだ。
既存の物流ビジネスモデルは、流通量に依存している。当然送る人が少なくなれば、物流量も少なくなる。人口減少に伴い、特に過疎地域では、採算が合わず鉄道廃線や路線バス廃止が進んでいる。また物流に関しても同様に物流会社の規模縮小や撤退も検討されはじめている。
実際に地方都市における個人宅配のコストは上昇し、地域経済に影響を与え始めている。物流会社が撤退すれば、配送コストは劇的に上昇し、小規模な農家など零細企業に大打撃をあたえることは避けられない。
既存のパラダイムから脱却し、人口減少に伴うコスト増などの個配のラストワンマイル問題を解決する新たな物流システムを検討すべく、株式会社デンソーと共同研究を実施した。2002年に過疎地域指定を受け、人口減少が進み鉄道廃線が増え、物流問題に対して問題意識のある北海道の名寄市をモデル都市とした。
名寄市の市長を始め、物流会社や市民に対してヒアリングを実施した。並行して複数の人間のランダムな動きから目標地点に到達することが可能かどうか、シミュレーションを作成し理論検証を実施。最終的には、市内の大学生を中心とした11人の行動データを2カ月間収集し、行動ルート、活動時間などの解析も実施した。
多くの人達の普段の活動を技術で他者に開くことにより、地域社会の問題を解決できる可能性はある。単純に物を運ぶだけでなく、コミュケーションのきっかけとなり、地域社会の活性化につながることも期待している。
Credit
Partner: DENSO
Director: Ryuta Aoki
[ Field Research ]
Interviewer: Ryuta Aoki, Narihiro Haneda (DENSO)
[ Theoretical Verification (Simulation) ]
Algorithm Design: Norihiro Maruyama, Atsushi Masumori, Takashi Ikegami
Production: ALTERNATIVE MACHINE
[ Data Analysis ]
Design: Ryuta Aoki
Programming: Kokoro Aoki (VOLOCITEE)