December 7, 2020 — OnRout, a real-time bidding platform for shipping carriers, has been named the grand prize winner of the Urban Freight Lab’s (UFL) fourth annual Tech Day: Last-Mile Delivery in the New Normal pitch competition for early- and mid-stage start-ups around the world working to improve the final 50 feet of the delivery process.
“We’re honored to be invited, and to be recognized as the winner by this group of industry experts is thrilling,” said OnRout founder Jonathan Hessney.
OnRout was selected as a semi-finalist from submissions to an open call for pitches announced in September; the other three semi-finalists are: Tortoise (a 100% electric remote-controlled sidewalk delivery cart for grocery, parcel, and retail delivery), Zown (an intelligence platform for food delivery drivers using data provided by residents), and Arrived (a software that provides carriers with destination intelligence).
“We received many interesting applications from firms around the world this year working in various areas of technology around the last-mile of delivery, ranging from electric/autonomous delivery, curbside management for food/goods pick-up/drop-off, lockers and modern mailbox systems, and goods consolidation,” said Andisheh Ranjbari, research scientist and UFL manager.
The four semi-finalists presented their pitches to UFL members (retailers, shippers, carriers, industry real estate, etc.), UFL researchers, local Departments of Transportation, and venture capitalists at the Tech Day competition on November 19.
OnRout was selected by a panel of judges who are experts representing retail, goods movement, land use, curb management, and the public sector:
- Andy Burke (EVP, Terreno Realty Corporation)
- Thomas Chandlee (Principal PM, Sustainable Transport, Amazon)
- Anne Goodchild (Professor and Director, UW Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics Center)
- Willy Khampradith (Startup Strategist, UPS)
- Kelly Rula (New Mobility Lead, Seattle Department of Transportation)
Selection criteria included technical feasibility, business application, market potential, and presentation quality.
“The judges were particularly impressed with a high quality of submissions and are pleased to award OnRout as the grand prize winner,” said Goodchild. “OnRout presents a promising approach to improving vehicle utilization that offers both economic and sustainability benefits.”
“The Urban Freight Lab brought together an amazing group of judges and contestants for the Last Mile Tech Day,” said Hessney. “We’re looking forward to future collaborations with UFL and their partners.”
Tech Day serves as a model for UFL members and public sector partners to evaluate new technologies in real time to determine efficacy to meet business needs and city goals, and for contestants to gain exposure and receive feedback on their products.
“The pace of innovation in last mile logistics continues to quicken and the Urban Freight Lab is happy to be able to catalyze these efforts,” said Goodchild.
Read more:
- Tech Day 2019: Transforming the Final 50 Feet of Delivery
- Tech Day 2018: Technological Disruption and Innovation in Last-Mile Delivery
- Tech Day 2017: Innovative Freight Technologies
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About the Urban Freight Lab (UFL): An innovative public-private partnership housed at the Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics Center at the University of Washington, the Urban Freight Lab is a structured workgroup that brings together private industry with City transportation officials to design and test solutions around urban freight management. Since launching in December 2016, the UFL has completed an innovative suite of research projects on the Final 50 Feet of delivery, providing foundational data and proven strategies to help cities reduce truck dwell times in load/unload spaces, and failed first delivery attempts by carriers, which lowers congestion, emissions, and costs.