• Arvato Systems is the consortium leader of the GAIA-X 4 ROMS project
• The IT service provider is responsible for developing a mobility platform for self-navigating parcel stations

The tremendous growth of the eCommerce sector has led to a rapid increase in packaging volume in both the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sectors. At the same time, urbanization has become a lasting trend and is seeing more and more people living in cities. Both of these developments are leading to a sharp increase in transport volumes, especially in large cities, which in turn result in high traffic congestion and a negative impact on the climate and noise pollution. The aim behind innovative, sustainable vehicle types and intelligent, automated fleet management is to alleviate these problems. And it is precisely this use case that Arvato Systems is pursuing with the GAIA-X 4 ROMS project.

Arvato Systems is playing a key role within the GAIA-X European research initiative by developing smart mobility systems for freight and goods transport. As the consortium leader of the GAIA-X 4 ROMS project (Remote Operation for Automated and Connected Mobility Services), which includes 18 research and economic partners in total, Arvato Systems is responsible for the design, development, and implementation of a completely new mobility platform. The focus of the project is on self-navigating parcel stations for the first and last mile in urban areas. In addition, data from the main run will be integrated into the overall delivery concept. Real-time localization data and arrival forecasts will be used to achieve the highest possible utilization of driverless delivery vehicles, along with faster delivery times and fewer traffic jams.

The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Krone Trailer company, TU Dortmund University, the IT service provider Materna, Zeppelin University, and the IOTA Foundation are also involved in the development of this use case within the GAIA-X 4 ROMS project. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) will take over the leadership of the consortium on the GAIA-X 4 ROMS project, which will run until September 2024 and includes other use cases.

“Based on the transportation processes, we want to develop methods and technologies in order to establish an automated, networked, and multimodal mobility system through the intelligent use of available data. Our goal is to develop new distribution systems that ensure the best possible connections to innovative delivery systems along the entire goods transport route, from the first mile and the main run through to the last mile,” explains Bernd Jaschinski-Schürmann, Head of Digital Supply Chain Management at Arvato Systems. “A specific example could be to have a consumer communicate with the self-navigating parcel station on a platform before a delivery and agreeing on a delivery place and time. This results in maximum flexibility – for both the sender and the recipient.”

"As a forward-thinking company, it is essential for us to come up with innovative ideas at an early stage and influence the development of the market,” adds Jens Brakel, Senior Business Development Manager and Project Manager for GAIA-X at Arvato Systems. “The insights we will gain over the course of this project will lay the groundwork for us to develop and promote additional data-driven business models and services for last mile delivery.”

About GAIA-X 4 ROMS

The GAIA-X initiative is a European project on which people from research, business, administration, associations, and politics are working together to achieve a more secure and networked data infrastructure within Europe. As part of the GAIA-X Future Mobility project family, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, GAIA-X 4 ROMS is preparing the required groundwork for the integration of innovative vehicles into the overall system. The project partners are developing the initial technological building blocks for vehicle-based mobility concepts for people and goods and presenting them in the GAIA-X community.