Category «Research»

Does parking matter? The impact of parking time on last-mile delivery optimization

Parking is necessary for traditional last-mile delivery practices, but finding parking can be difficult. Yet, the routing literature largely does not account for the need to find parking. In a new paper, the researchers address this challenge of finding parking through the Capacitated Delivery Problem with Parking (CDPP). Unlike other models in the literature, the …

McKinsey: factors to consider for same-day delivery

Same-day delivery, where a customer places an e-commerce order and delivers it within the same calendar day, is a small market segment. A McKinsey analysis suggests that same-day accounts for less than 5 percent of most countries’ courier, express, and parcel (CEP) market. McKinsey examines six variables that drive the potential for same-day delivery services. …

The potential of Freight Demand Management in cities

A new paper quantifies the potential Freight Demand Management (FDM) market in metropolitan areas. The authors define FDM and describe the various initiatives that could be undertaken to reduce the externalities produced by freight traffic. These changes involve altering the demand patterns enacted by the receivers of supplies. The term Freight Demand Management (FDM) is the area of transportation …

SINERGI: sustainable urban logistics in the age of digitization

Microdelivery-based city logistics platforms struggle to remain profitable. Boosting their efficiency will foster the usage of bikes instead of heavy vehicles. However, challenges related to riders’ unsafe behavior in traffic also need to be addressed. The SINERGI project aims to provide solutions that will help boost logistic operations that are both sustainable and safe. SINERGI …

A human behaviour perspective on horizontal collaboration

The transport sector needs to drastically reduce its carbon footprint to comply with the Paris Agreement. In today’s sharing economy, horizontal collaboration is an emerging strategy to contribute to this goal. However, most studies on horizontal collaboration or resource pooling are approached from a theoretical Operations Research perspective, and case studies are usually stylized. At …

ULaaDS: a framework for open parcel locker systems

Integrating parcel lockers has become crucial as urban spaces evolve, especially with the booming e-commerce sector. A new ULaaDS publication, developed by Bax & Company, with valuable insights from Gemeente Groningen (NL) and the University of Groningen, addresses the rapid expansion of these services and their impact on urban life and public spaces. Key highlights …

Seattle microhub delivery pilot: lessons learned

Urban freight deliveries using microhubs and cargo kibes have gained attention in cities suffering from congestion and emissions. Cargo bike deliveries for parcels and microhubs used as transshipment points in urban cores can replace trucks to make cities more livable. An Urban Freight Lab study describes and empirically evaluates an e-cargo tricycle pilot delivering parcels …

Research: costs and benefits of a low emission zone for city logistics

A new paper aims to quantify the environmental and economic impacts of a low-emission zone in the context of urban freight transport. The research combines a literature review, behavioral data, urban freight transport, environmental models, and cost-benefit analysis methodologies. Through this methodological framework, the researchers examine the costs and benefits of implementing a low-emission zone …

Research: on-demand last-mile distribution network design with omnichannel inventory

E-commerce delivery deadlines are getting increasingly tight, driven by a growing ‘I-want-it-now’ instant gratification mindset of consumers and the desire of online and omnichannel retailers to capitalize on the growth of on-demand e-commerce. On-demand deliveries with delivery deadlines as tight as one or two hours force companies to rethink their last-mile distribution network since tight …

Research: shared-fleet operations in healthcare logistics between public organizations

Shared-fleet logistics involves collaboration between two or more companies to combine workloads and vehicle capacity to improve vehicle utilisation and transport efficiency and reduce costs. A recent study considers the potential environmental and economic benefits of implementing a shared-fleet collaboration between two public organizations: a local government authority and a National Health Service (NHS) Trust. …