A Coppe study highlights the use of digital technologies to make urban food logistics more efficient
Planeta COPPE / Transport Engineering / News
Date: 17/08/2026
Reducing food waste, traffic congestion, and making the distribution of perishable goods in large cities more efficient. These are some of the challenges faced by urban logistics that prompted a study conducted at Coppe/UFRJ. The study proposes the integrated application of digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and blockchain, to monitor food loading and unloading operations in real time.
The research is part of the master’s thesis by Naina Ribeiro Lelis, from Coppe’s Transportation Engineering Program (PET), and addresses a problem with significant economic and social impact. According to Embrapa, millions of metric tons of food are lost every year due to failures in storage, transportation, and distribution. At the same time, major urban centers face traffic congestion, restrictions on truck traffic, and difficulties in managing loading and unloading areas—factors that compromise product quality, drive up logistics costs, and increase greenhouse gas emissions.
The proposal is to use sensors and smart systems to monitor the availability of loading and unloading spaces, food transport conditions, and the distribution flow, enabling carriers and businesses to identify the most appropriate time to make deliveries and pickups. These technologies also make it possible to track perishable goods, automatically prioritize deliveries, and ensure greater security and data integrity.
For Professor Matheus Henrique Oliveira, the research advisor, the implementation of these tools could help address one of the main obstacles facing Brazil’s infrastructure. In 2025, the country’s logistics costs reached 15.5% of GDP, a high figure compared to economies with more balanced transportation systems. According to him, the integration of urban management and digital technologies represents an opportunity to increase the efficiency of supply chains, reduce losses, and strengthen the industry’s competitiveness.
In addition to economic gains, the research highlights benefits for society by providing insights for public policies aimed at developing smarter and more sustainable cities. In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the study shows that the digitization of logistics can help improve urban mobility, reduce food waste, and make cities’ supply chains more resilient.
The researchers point out, however, that the adoption of these technologies depends on advances in digital infrastructure, regulatory standardization, and coordination among producers, carriers, retailers, and government agencies. According to Professor Lino Marujo of the Production Engineering Program (PEP) at Coppe, the technology is already available, but its potential will only be fully realized with governance models capable of integrating the various players in the logistics chain.
