ABSTRACT
Purpose: Last mile distribution is a crucial element of any supply chain network, and its complexity has challenged established practices and frameworks in the management literature. This is particularly evident when demand surges, as with recent lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent demand for home delivery services. Given the importance of this critical component, this study recommends horizontal collaboration as a possible solution for retailers seeking to improve the quality of their services. Design/methodology/approach: This study investigates whether horizontal collaboration should be considered as an option for faster and greener distribution of groceries ordered online. Using the United Kingdom and Greek grocery markets that differ in terms of online grocery penetration, distribution network structure and delivery times, the study discusses how the effectiveness of pooling resources can create positive spillover effects for consumers, businesses and society. Findings: Despite their differences, both markets indicate the need for horizontal collaboration in the highly topical issue of last mile delivery. Originality/value: Taking a theoretical and practical view in cases of disruption and constant pressure in last mile distribution, horizontal collaboration supports retailers to coordinate routes, increase fleet and vehicle utilisation, reduce traffic and carbon emissions while improving customer satisfaction. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Last mile distribution is a crucial element of any supply chain network, and its complexity has challenged established practices and frameworks in the management literature. This is particularly evident when demand surges, as with recent lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent demand for home delivery services. Given the importance of this critical component, this study recommends horizontal collaboration as a possible solution for retailers seeking to improve the quality of their services. Design/methodology/approach: This study investigates whether horizontal collaboration should be considered as an option for faster and greener distribution of groceries ordered online. Using the United Kingdom and Greek grocery markets that differ in terms of online grocery penetration, distribution network structure and delivery times, the study discusses how the effectiveness of pooling resources can create positive spillover effects for consumers, businesses and society. Findings: Despite their differences, both markets indicate the need for horizontal collaboration in the highly topical issue of last mile delivery. Originality/value: Taking a theoretical and practical view in cases of disruption and constant pressure in last mile distribution, horizontal collaboration supports retailers to coordinate routes, increase fleet and vehicle utilisation, reduce traffic and carbon emissions while improving customer satisfaction. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 disease emerged in late 2019 in China, is still rapidly spreading across the globe. Greece as many other countries enforced strict preventative policies. As a result, the daily life of people has changed and conversation turned online. The paper aims at investigating discussions around COVID-19 on Twitter in Greece. Twitter was selected as it played a significant role during the global health crisis. The presence of the keywords “Κορονοιος”, “κορονοιός”, “κορωνοιος”, “Κορωνοϊός”, “Κορωνοιος” in tweets over four periods of time were recorded. NodeXL Pro was used to identify word pairs, create semantic networks and analyze them. Main topics of conversation were extracted. ‘New cases’ are heavily discussed all of the times showing anxiety about community transmission of the virus. A shift on different views was also recorded. Before the lockdown people showed their concerns about stocking up foods and other essentials, followed by positive hashtags in the fight to save lives and encouraging each other and finally the debate over the deaths. The paper may help policy makers regarding societal issues during the pandemic. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Cytokine release syndrome and acute respiratory distress syndrome are the major complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and tocilizumab has shown efficacy in this setting. We report on 2 severely ill patients with COVID-19 treated with tocilizumab within 7 to 10 days of onset of symptoms. Tocilizumab markedly improved their clinical condition and was associated with regression of abnormalities on chest computed tomography within 1 week of tocilizumab administration. © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.