– The last mile ‘fragmentation tax’: FarEye sets out four measures to control rising delivery costs in last mile leaders EMEA 2026
- Last mile delivery costs increased by 9% on average in the EMEA region; 96% of companies pay more for each delivery.
- Kushal Nahata, CEO of FarEye, proposes four measures to reduce the ‘fragmentation tax’ generated by disconnected carriers and systems on each delivery.
- Last Mile Circle, LML’s year-round trader community, now spans the APAC, Americas and EMEA regions.
/PRNewswire/ — Last mile delivery costs in the EMEA region increased by an average of 9% over the past year; 96% of companies now pay more for each delivery, according to the report Eye on the Last Mile EMEA FarEye in 2026.
Presenting the findings, Kushal Nahata, CEO and co-founder of FarEye, attributed much of this increase to the ‘fragmentation tax’: hidden costs arising from carriers, data and systems that are not connected to each other.
Based on more than 4,000 data points from more than 500 respondents, the report revealed that 51% of companies that completely outsource their operations cite unreliable carrier information as their biggest challenge, compared to 22% who cite costs.
Nahata compared last-mile fragmentation to pre-containerization freight transportation, a time when the adoption of a common standard reduced freight costs from $5.83 to $0.16 per ton.
“Companies can outsource execution, but they cannot delegate responsibility for costs and customer experience,” Nahata said. “The last mile is still waiting for its moment of containerization.”
The manager pointed out four priorities:
- Maintain control: Know the location of each shipment, the carrier’s assignment criteria and the cost, without having to make calls.
- Measure the total cost of the service: Track exceptions, failed delivery attempts, and customer interactions, along with transportation costs per shipment.
- Promote your delivery proposal: Offer free standard shipping, predictable time slots, and expedited shipping options at an additional cost. For customers, reliability is the most important factor (according to 63% of companies), compared to speed (11%).
- Develop AI solutions based on reliable data: Standardize milestones, exception definitions and costs, always maintaining human oversight.
FarEye’s platform offers visibility across carriers, markets and systems, including real-time delivery costs.
The event, held from October 13 to 15 at the Mercure Amsterdam City hotel, brought together more than 100 leaders from sectors such as postal, logistics, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, automotive, telecommunications and restaurants.
Slavko Ovčina, CTO of Slovenia Post, highlighted the usefulness of operational, practical and open discussions. For his part, Sebastian Bleser, senior vice president of supply chain at Autodoc, stressed the importance of exchanging perspectives between different markets beyond the event itself.
Nahata introduced ‘Last Mile Circle’, a year-round LML community aimed at sharing and solving operational challenges. Leaders from the EMEA region attended the meeting, along with founding members from the APAC region and the Americas.
