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Sustainable Last Mile Delivery and Returns on E-Commerce Market

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 39912

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Maja Kiba-Janiak

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Guest Editor

Department of Strategic Management and Logistics, Faculty of Business and Management, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, Branch in Jelenia Góra, 58-500 Wroclaw, Poland
Interests: city logistics; logistics in city strategic planning; last mile delivery; e-commerce; supply chain management
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Prof. Dr. Michael Browne

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Guest Editor

Department of Business Administration, University of Gothenburg, 40530 Göteborg, Sweden
Interests: sustainable logistics; retail logistics; city logistics

Prof. Dr. Russell Thompson

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Department of Transport Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia
Interests: physical internet; urban freight; intelligent transport systems; freight modelling; distribution network; city logistics
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Prof. Dr. Leise de Oliveira

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Department of Transport and Geotechnical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31515-212 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Interests: urban freight transport; city logistics; freight and passenger transport system; sustainable cities; sustainable development; econometrics
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Dr. Pietro Evangelista

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Guest Editor

Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean (ISMed), Italian National Research Council (CNR), Via G. Sanfelice, 8-80134 Naples, Italy
Interests: impact of digitalisation and ICT on supply chain management; environmental sustainability in logistics service industry; knowledge management in logistics and supply chain; maritime-port logistics; shipping; transport management; mobility
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to discuss the role of sustainable last mile delivery and returns on the e-commerce market from various stakeholder perspectives.

Sustainable city logistics of last mile delivery and returns on the e-commerce market are playing an increasingly important role. According to the C3 Solutions report, e-commerce has become one of the biggest problems in the supply chain in the 21st century (Braun, 2018). In just five years, from 2012 to 2017, the number of people making purchases over the Internet around the world has increased by more than 200% (Global Web index, 2018). Since COVID-19 has been occurring globally, the number of e-customers has become even more significant.

A fast-growing e-commerce market and the increasing customer requirements in terms of speed and frequency of deliveries contributes to the formation of more and more interference in the last mile of the supply chain (Yu et al., 2016; Vakulenko et al., 2018). Research indicates that the last mile deliveries are more expensive than shopping in a retail store (depending on the package’s size and delivery service). Simultaneously, customers are not willing to pay higher delivery costs (Allen et al., 2018). Organizing delivery to the individual customer within a day or even within a few hours is a growing challenge for transport companies. However, more and more frequent deliveries result in environmental pollution, congestion, road accidents, increased delivery costs, and costs related to increased congestion and environmental pollution (Lemke et al., 2016). Last mile logistics is a problematic issue for the companies delivering products to individual customers and for residents, customers, retailers, and local governments responsible for the city’s quality of life.

We invite you to submit papers from various disciplines that will contribute to this Special Issue. We are looking for both research papers and comprehensive reviews related to sustainable last mile delivery and/or returns from the e-commerce market from various stakeholder perspectives. Research related to the impacts of COVID-19 on sustainable e-commerce delivery are also very welcome. The following potential areas for this Special Issue are welcome; however, the list of research fields is not exhaustive:

Organization of sustainable last mile delivery for products bought online;
Innovative solutions introduced in terms of sustainable last mile delivery for the e-commerce market;
Environmentally friendly transportation means for sustainable last mile delivery;
Local/state authority policy in terms of sustainable last mile delivery;
Impacts of COViD-19 on e-commerce and last mile delivery;
Changes in stakeholder behavior in terms of last mile delivery from the e-commerce market;
Sustainable returns from the e-commerce market;
Methods and measurements for sustainable last mile delivery and returns on e-commerce market.

Bibliography:

Braun G., 2018,White Paper, The E-commerce Effect: The Modern Supply Chain Disruptor, C3 Solutions, s. 2.
Global Webindex, 2018, https://www.statista.com/statistics/261245/b2c-e-commerce-salesworldwide/file:///F:/badania%20naukowe/Brazylia-polska/raporty/statistic_id274251_worldwideonline-retail-rate-2017-by-country.pdf, access: 20.11.2018
Yu Y., Wang X., Zhong R. Y., Huanga G. Q., 2016, E-commerce Logistics in Supply Chain Management: Practice Perspective, Procedia CIRP 52 179 – 185.
Vakulenko Y., Hellström D., Hjort K., 2018, What's in the parcel locker? Exploring customer value in e-commerce last mile delivery, Journal of Business Research 88 421–427
Lemke J., Iwan S., Korczak J., 2016, Usability of the parcel lockers from the customer perspective – the research in Polish Cities, 2nd International Conference "Green Cities - Green Logistics for Greener Cities", 2-3 March 2016, Szczecin, Poland, Transportation Research Procedia 16, 272 – 287
Allen J., Piecyk M., Piotrowska M., McLeod F., Cherrett T., Ghali K., Nguyen T., Bektas T., Bates O., Friday A., Wise S., Austwick M., 2018, Understanding the impact of e-commerce on last-mile light goods vehicle activity in urban areas: The case of London, Transportation Research Part D 61 325–338

Prof. Dr. Maja Kiba-Janiak
Prof. Dr. Michael Browne
Prof. Dr. Russell Thompson
Prof. Dr. Leise de Oliveira
Dr. Pietro Evangelista
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

last mile delivery
sustainable delivery
returns, e-commerce
stakeholders

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 2468 KiB

Open AccessArticle

E-Commerce Parcel Distribution in Urban Areas with Sustainable Performance Indicators

by Riharsono Prastyantoro, Heru Purboyo Hidayat Putro, Gatot Yudoko and Puspita Dirgahayani

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16229; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316229 - 5 Dec 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2694

Abstract

E-commerce transactions have increased during the pandemic as people living in urban areas turn to buy goods online rather than offline. A two-echelon distribution system using parcel mobile hubs (PMHs) with small vehicles can increase operational cost efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The originality of this study is in building and testing a conceptual framework for selecting PMH locations with three variables (parcel distribution, internet quota for e-commerce, and center of e-buyer) and two constraints (space availability and traffic flow). Spatial analysis is used as a method to test the conceptual framework with a parcel distribution database from Bandung. As a city whose profile represents urban areas in developing countries well, Bandung is chosen as a case study. The proportion of distance to variables and the outermost point of each cluster is less than 10%, which proves that the three variables are correlated. This study proves that the selection of PMH locations based on this conceptual framework results in better sustainable performance compared to existing conditions. Using PMHs combined with city freighters can reduce operational costs by 19.7% and prevent 3.4 tons of CO₂ emissions per year with conventional motorcycles and 7.2 tons of CO₂ emissions per year with electric motorcycles or scooters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Last Mile Delivery and Returns on E-Commerce Market)

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18 pages, 293 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Delivering Goods Using a Baby Pram: The Sustainability of Last-Mile Logistics Business Models

by Henri Kervola, Erika Kallionpää and Heikki Liimatainen

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14031; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114031 - 28 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2304

Abstract

This study compares the differences in the attitudes of last-mile delivery companies operating with different business models toward economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The economic perspective focuses on productivity, the environment, and social sustainability, and where the environment and social sustainability are concerned, on carbon neutrality goals and means, and on what societal factors companies consider important, respectively. In this multi-case qualitative study, a literature review was carried out and 11 semi-structured expert interviews were conducted in companies representing three business model categories: crowdshipping companies, last-mile providers, and traditional logistics service providers. Based on this study, crowdshipping and last-mile companies were largely loss making, whereas logistics service providers were profitable. The first two groups invest heavily in growth, which explains the loss. All logistics service providers, half of the last-mile providers, and no crowdshipping companies set a carbon neutrality target. The biggest difference in environmental measures comes from the fact that in the crowdshipping business model deliveries are performed partly in conjunction with other travel, emphasizing job creation in society and freedom of work. In contrast, the last-mile and traditional logistics companies emphasized the responsibilities of the employer. For the scientific community, this study provides new insights into the subject from the perspective of different business models. For management, this research provides insight into the views of other companies that can be utilized in future decision making. For example, if the legislation of crowdshipping becomes clearer, then traditional companies could consider using it in their own operations to overcome labor shortages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Last Mile Delivery and Returns on E-Commerce Market)

19 pages, 2788 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Effects of Delivery Attributes on E-Shopping Consumer Behaviour

by Emília Guerra Dias, Leise Kelli de Oliveira and Cassiano Augusto Isler

Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010013 - 21 Dec 2021

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7893

Abstract

E-consumer behaviour plays a vital role in e-commerce worldwide. This paper addresses the importance of delivery time, delivery fee, and delivery reception, and the influence of delivery fee and reception on e-consumers’ behaviour by analysing the following hypotheses: delivery attributes affect e-shopping behaviour, and delivery attributes affect e-consumers’ behaviour according to their sociodemographic characteristics. Data were obtained from a web-based survey with Brazilian e-consumers, and logistic regression and artificial neural network models were estimated to assess consumer behaviour. We found that delivery fee willingness to pay and privacy are affected by delivery times according to gender. Delivery fees affect the e-consumer according to gender, the habit of purchasing books and leisure products, privacy, promotions, and pricing, and influence the e-shopping decision by age, purchase of electronic products, and promotions. Delivery reception is relevant according to age, income, gender, frequency of e-shopping, privacy, and pricing. Furthermore, delivery fees influence the e-shopping decision by age, purchase of electronic products, and promotions. Finally, delivery fee, willingness-to-pay, and privacy are characteristics influenced by reception on the e-shopping decision. Further analyses would include the dynamic aspects of e-consumer behaviour and the impacts of COVID-19 in the e-consumption patterns and its effects on e-commerce deliveries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Last Mile Delivery and Returns on E-Commerce Market)

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19 pages, 453 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating Distribution Costs and CO₂-Emissions of a Two-Stage Distribution System with Cargo Bikes: A Case Study in the City of Innsbruck

by Anne Büttgen, Belma Turan and Vera Hemmelmayr

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13974; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413974 - 17 Dec 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3994

Abstract

During the last years, e-commerce has grown rapidly. As a result, the number of parcel deliveries in urban areas is increasing, which affects the inner-city traffic and leads to congestion and air pollution, thereby decreasing the quality of life in cities. City administrators and logistic service providers have been working on the optimization of parcel distribution in order to alleviate congestion and reduce the negative impact on the environment. One of the solutions for environmentally friendly parcel distribution are two-stage distribution systems with city hubs. City hubs are facilities located close to the delivery area which are used as an enabling infrastructure to store and consolidate the parcels. For the last mile delivery from the city hub to final customers, zero emission vehicles, such as cargo bikes, can be used. Many studies have been conducted on this topic in recent years. This paper contributes to this research area by evaluating the implementation of such a two-stage distribution system with a city hub and cargo bikes in Innsbruck, Austria. The goal is to determine the best location for a city hub and the composition of the delivery fleet by minimizing the total distribution and CO

_{2}

-emission cost. E-vans are used for the first and cargo bikes for the second stage of the parcel delivery. The problem is modeled as a vehicle routing problem with multiple trips and is solved in ArcGIS Pro, using the built-in routing solver. The analysis shows that all hub candidates provide comparably good results, with one potential station, the main station, showing the highest improvement compared to the basic system, with delivery by conventional vans. Savings in distribution costs of up to 30% can be achieved. Furthermore, by taking into account both indirect and direct emissions with a well-to-wheel approach, CO

_{2}

-emissions can be reduced by 96%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Last Mile Delivery and Returns on E-Commerce Market)

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18 pages, 2781 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evolutionary Game Analysis on Last Mile Delivery Resource Integration—Exploring the Behavioral Strategies between Logistics Service Providers, Property Service Companies and Customers

by Lin Zhou, Yanping Chen, Yi Jing and Youwei Jiang

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12240; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112240 - 5 Nov 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2374

Abstract

As resource integration plays a significant part in improving operational efficiency in the last mile delivery industry, there is an increasing popularity for logistics service providers (LSPs) to collaborate with property service companies (PSCs). Based on the evolutionary game theory, considering the dual role of PSCs when collaborating with LSPs, a trilateral evolutionary game model between PSCs, LSPs, and customers (Cs) is established to analyze the strategic choices and explore the influencing factors on the tripartite strategy. The results show that (1) There are optimal profit allocation coefficients and cost-sharing coefficients to cause the system to reach a steady state. (2) The integration cost between LSPs and PSCs and the home delivery cost inhibit the strategic integration of the two enterprises. (3) PSCs are more sensitive to their benefits and costs than LSPs in the process of resource integration. (4) More precisely evaluating their potential loss caused by temporary integration will help the tripartite to make a more scientific choice of strategic behavior. (5) The increase of community premium income helps to improve the enthusiasm of Cs supporting strategic integration. (6) The behavior and decision-making choices of the three game players affect each other in the last mile delivery resource integration. (7) The indirect benefits, such as advertising during their integration, play a positive role. Finally, the MATLAB2020a software is applied to simulate and analyze the impact of key factors on strategy evolution, and we propose several useful suggestions to promote the development of last mile delivery resource integration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Last Mile Delivery and Returns on E-Commerce Market)

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20 pages, 5862 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Metro-Based System as Sustainable Alternative for Urban Logistics in the Era of E-Commerce

by Rafael Villa and Andrés Monzón

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4479; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084479 - 16 Apr 2021

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 7248

Abstract

Business to consumer e-commerce (B2C) has increased sharply in recent years driven by a growing online population and changes in consumer behavior. In metropolitan areas, the “Amazon effect” (online retailers’ vast selection, fast shipping, free returns, and low prices) has led to an increased use of light goods vehicles. This is affecting the rational functioning of the transport system, including a high degree of fragmentation, low load optimization, and, among other externalities, higher traffic congestion. This paper investigates the potential of a metro system, in a big city like Madrid, to provide delivery services by leveraging its existing carrying capacity and using the metro stations to collect parcels in lockers. It would be a new mixed distribution model for last-mile deliveries associated with e-commerce. To that end, the paper evaluates the cost and impacts of two alternative scenarios for managing the unused space in rolling stock (shared trains) or specific full train services (dedicated trains) on existing lines. The external costs of the proposed scenarios are compared with current e-commerce delivery scenario (parcel delivery by road). The results show that underground transport of parcels could significantly reduce congestion costs, accidents, noise, GHG emissions, and air pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Last Mile Delivery and Returns on E-Commerce Market)

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Review

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26 pages, 2350 KiB

Open AccessReview

Trends of Environmentally Sustainable Solutions of Urban Last-Mile Deliveries on the E-Commerce Market—A Literature Review

by Magdalena Mucowska

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5894; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115894 - 24 May 2021

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 10253

Abstract

The growth of e-commerce has increased urban freight transport, bringing negative externalities of emissions, pollution, noise, congestion, and habitat loss. There is a visible effort to make the urban last-mile (LM) deliveries more sustainable, mainly in the environmental aspects; however, the related literature lacks a synthesis of the up-to-date research trends and available solutions. This paper reviews relevant literature following SRL methodology in terms of topics related to green LM deliveries on the e-commerce market in urban areas, and identifies trends and the research gaps in this field. In addition, current research topics and existing solutions within the e-commerce market, which increase its environmental sustainability are presented. The findings provide an accurate and comprehensive synthesis of research in green LM e-commerce deliveries in cities, identify current and emerging interests of researchers worldwide, and discover areas requiring further studies. The topics of ICT and smart solutions, customer behavior, and performance assessment certainly seem to be underestimated in the current research. In practical terms, it is a source of knowledge and guidelines on the current developments regarding the existing solution for the LM e-commerce deliveries in the urban area, which might help local governments, freight operators, and other stakeholders of last-mile logistics to improve their sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Last Mile Delivery and Returns on E-Commerce Market)

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