Abstract New forms of operation in urban freight distribution can lead to improvements in the efficiency of last mile deliveries, besides contributing to reduce their costs and to reduce their socio-environmental impacts. However, the financial viability of such forms of operation may still be questionable due to the high investments required and the high labor cost involved, especially in developing countries. Therefore, this paper aims to assess how these new forms of operation can be implemented in the context of developing countries, identifying the main challenges, benefits and impact of these practices for the cities, which often suffer from other problems of transport infrastructure.