The origins of e-commerce can be traced back to the 1948–49 Berlin blockade and airlift, with goods being ordered via telex, a system that evolved and was elaborated upon for decades, coming to fruition in 1993 when the first browser for accessing the Web was born. Or so we thought.

Fast forward to smartphones, super-fast broadband, wearable tech, and you have what many consumers now simply call commerce. The 'e' is largely superfluous. Challenging times for the High Street, but bread and butter for online retailers.

As shoppers, we now demand a high quality, instant purchasing experience - this has resulted in an expectation of rapid fulfilment and distribution which would have been unimaginable a decade ago. This in turn has spawned a huge wave of technological innovation in more efficient and cost-effective systems of delivery. However, the biggest and most costly challenge remains the same - that devilish last mile.

Last Mile Logistics is the term used to describe the final stage of a product’s journey, when it finally arrives at the buyer’s door. In addition to being key to customer satisfaction, this 'last mile' is the most expensive and time-consuming stage of the shipping process. A headache for retailers, for sure, but a source of opportunities for those with the requisite skills and business acumen.