A Detection System for Comfortable Locations Based on Facial Expression Analysis While Riding Bicycles

In recent years, the use of bicycle as a healthy and economical means of transportation has been promoted worldwide. In addition, with the increase in bicycle commuting due to the COVID-19, the use of bicycles are attracting attention as a last-mile means of transportation in Mobility as a Service(MaaS). To help ensure a safe and comfortable ride using a smartphone mounted on a bicycle, this study focuses on analyzing facial expressions while riding to determine potential comfort along the route with the surrounding environment and to provide a map that users can explicitly feedback(FB) after riding. Combining the emotions of facial expressions while riding and FB, we annotate comfort to different locations. Afterwards, we verify the relationship between locations with high level of comfort based on the acquired data and the surrounding environment of those locations using Google Street View(GSV). © 2023 Owner/Author.

Who is willing-to-pay for sustainable last mile innovations?

The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the growth of e-commerce. As a result, urban freight transport volume is increasing, leading to traffic congestion and negative environmental impacts, while service quality is deteriorating. These challenges can be addressed through radical innovation of urban last mile logistics with environmental-friendly transportation modes (e. g., cargo bikes), consolidation points (e. g., micro hubs) and new digital service models (e. g., time window alignments). However, sustainability improvements lead to higher costs and will not be realized - beyond pilot studies - until they become economically viable. Therefore, willingness-to-pay (WTP) for sustainable last mile innovations (LMI) is one of the most important success factors. In our work, we aim to investigate the WTP for the additional costs of sustainable LMI. While various stakeholders such as online retailers, logistics service providers or city administrations could benefit from sustainable LMI, in our study we focus on the group that is likely to benefit the most: urban inhabitants. Therefore, we investigated consumers' WTP for sustainable LMI by conducting a questionnaire survey in Germany in September and October 2020 (n = 1,071) and analyzing the data using multivariate statistics. The results show four consumer segments, their characteristics, and their WTP for LMI. Based on the results, implications for stakeholders (especially online retailers) are derived to address the behavior of each consumer segment towards more sustainability in urban last mile logistics. Further research would be interesting to evaluate allocation scenarios for the additional costs among all last mile stakeholders empirically. © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.

Who is willing-to-pay for sustainable last mile innovations?

The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the growth of e-commerce. As a result, urban freight transport volume is increasing, leading to traffic congestion and negative environmental impacts, while service quality is deteriorating. These challenges can be addressed through radical innovation of urban last mile logistics with environmental-friendly transportation modes (e. g., cargo bikes), consolidation points (e. g., micro hubs) and new digital service models (e. g., time window alignments). However, sustainability improvements lead to higher costs and will not be realized - beyond pilot studies - until they become economically viable. Therefore, willingness-to-pay (WTP) for sustainable last mile innovations (LMI) is one of the most important success factors. In our work, we aim to investigate the WTP for the additional costs of sustainable LMI. While various stakeholders such as online retailers, logistics service providers or city administrations could benefit from sustainable LMI, in our study we focus on the group that is likely to benefit the most: urban inhabitants. Therefore, we investigated consumers' WTP for sustainable LMI by conducting a questionnaire survey in Germany in September and October 2020 (n = 1,071) and analyzing the data using multivariate statistics. The results show four consumer segments, their characteristics, and their WTP for LMI. Based on the results, implications for stakeholders (especially online retailers) are derived to address the behavior of each consumer segment towards more sustainability in urban last mile logistics. Further research would be interesting to evaluate allocation scenarios for the additional costs among all last mile stakeholders empirically. © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.

A literature review of the main factors influencing the e-commerce and last-mile delivery projects during COVID-19 pandemic

Humanity has faced many pandemics throughout its history with COVID-19 pandemic being the most recent. Each pandemic requires the implementation of a series of restrictions and measures to reform local societies or even society on a global scale. Scientific and technological innovations have ensured the survival of mankind and consequently the establishment of new habits and trends. One of these reforms concerns the transport of goods and in particular urban logistics and last-mile delivery. Despite the increasing use of e-commerce, the average amount of money spent per month and per buyer has decreased;in times of uncertainty, people prefer to postpone big purchases and focus more on everyday products. These purchases have generated an increase in demand for the transport of goods and put significant pressure on the supply chain. For this reason, actions have been developed to improve logistics, in particular last-mile delivery, with the introduction of environmentally friendly and small vehicles, among others. In order to be able to trace the evolution of the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and logistics spatially and temporally, the manuscript focused as a first step on the analysis of the literature entered in the main databases dedicated to scientific publications, returning some 2,227 indexed articles from 2000 to 2021. The search was conducted using keywords and iterations between them. The results emphasised the need to adapt business activities to the changing situation by anticipating people's needs, creating e-commerce sites capable of accompanying customers in this delicate phase. The results obtained were analysed from a statistical point of view, laying the foundations for future investigative steps in the field of last-mile logistics and the proper planning of loading and unloading spaces for goods in urban areas. © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.

Freight Distribution in Small Islands: Integration between Naval Services and Parcel Lockers

Freight transportation in urban areas represents an essential activity from the standpoint of economic development;in recent years, the spread of e-commerce (also accelerated by COVID-19) has contributed to increasing the demand for freight distribution over short distances. In most cities, the approaches and measures are often based on new technologies. Nevertheless, today there are contexts wherein delivery operations represent critical tasks to be solved. Furthermore, low accessibility areas, such as small islands, present further problems due to their exclusive dependence on maritime links (and often low-reliability services). This paper tackles this topic, formulating and solving a distribution problem by linking shipping services with last-mile distribution operated by means of an automatic delivery service (parcel lockers). A test application is proposed by considering the small island of Lipari in the archipelago of the Aeolian islands (Sicily, Southern Italy). The results show that such a type of service could reduce the user's waiting time when compared to traditional home deliveries.

Determining the Impacts of COVID-19 on Urban Deliveries in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte Using Spatial Analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed lifestyles, with consequent impacts on urban freight movements. This paper analyzes the impacts of COVID-19 on urban deliveries in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region, Brazil. The Lee index and the Local Indicator of Spatial Association were calculated using data on urban deliveries (retail and home deliveries) and COVID-19 cases. The results confirmed the negative impacts on retail deliveries and the positive impacts on home deliveries. The spatial analysis demonstrated that the most interconnected cities presented more similar patterns. At the beginning of the pandemic, consumers were considerably concerned about the virus spread, and the changes in consumption behavior were slow. The findings suggest the importance of alternative strategies to traditional retail. In addition, the local infrastructure should adapt to the increased demand for home deliveries during pandemics.

Consumer logistics in contemporary shopping: a synthesised review

Contemporary shopping is experiencing rapid changes with the increasing ubiquity of technologies that can be utilised to create seamless omni-channel experiences. These changes have logistics-related implications for end-consumers. Adopting Bowersox (1978)'s [Logistics management. New York: Macmillan] categorisation of logistics activities, this study comprises a synthesised review of scattered consumer logistics literature to bring order and structure to this evolving research field. It is found that an omni-channel shopping environment enables the dynamic transfer of logistics activities between business operators and consumers;However, this interaction does not extend to the post-shopping last-mile context. Instead, last-mile logistics is characterised by a somewhat rigid extension/shift of logistics obligations to/from consumers. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a self-service and technology-dependence trend in consumer logistics, leading to the more active control of logistics activities by consumers. Four propositions along with a unified framework are proposed, based on which a list of future research questions is suggested. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Transport Reviews is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Last mile delivery in logistics and supply chain management: a bibliometric analysis and future directions

PurposeThe main objective of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review (SLR) and structured insight into last mile delivery, ultimately identifying gaps in current knowledge and proposing a framework for future research direction in terms of sustainability in the area.Design/methodology/approachThis paper identifies and synthesizes information from academic journals and examines "Journals and Publishing place,” "Geographic location,” "Year of Publication,” "University and Author Affiliation,” "Themes and Sub-themes,” "Theory,” "Research Design, Methods and Area” and "Industry Involvement.” A collection of online databases from 2005 to 2020 were explored, using the keywords "Last mile delivery,” "Last mile logistics,” "Last mile transportation,” "Last mile fulfillment,” "Last mile operations” and "Last mile distribution” in their title and/or and/or keywords. Accordingly, a total of 281 journal articles were found in this discipline area, and data were derived from a succession of variables.FindingsThere has been significant growth in published articles concerning last mile delivery over the last 15 years (2005–2020). An in-depth review of the literature shows five dimensions of the last mile: last mile delivery, transportation, operations, distribution and logistics. Each of these dimensions is interrelated and possess clustered characteristics. For instance, last mile operations, last mile transportation and last mile delivery are operational, whereas last mile distribution is tactical, and last mile logistics possess strategic characteristics. The findings also indicate that even though the sustainability concept can be incorporated into all levels of the last mile, the current literature landscape mainly concentrates on the operational level.Research limitations/implicationsThis review is limited to academic sources available from Emerald Insight, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis, Springer, MDPI and IEEE containing the mentioned keywords in the title and/or /or keywords. Furthermore, only papers from high-quality, peer-reviewed journals were evaluated. Other sources such as books and conference papers were not included.Practical implicationsThis study dissects last mile delivery to produce a framework that captures and presents its complex characteristics and its interconnectedness with various related components. By analyzing last mile delivery in its entirety, the framework also helps practitioners pinpoint which levels of last mile delivery (operation, tactical or strategic) they can incorporate the concept of sustainability.Originality/valueThe research findings enrich the contemporary literature landscape and future work by providing a conceptual framework that incorporates the "economic,” "environmental” and "social” pillars of sustainability in all dimensions of the last mile delivery.

Sustainable Urban Freight for Energy-Efficient Smart Cities—Systematic Literature Review

Smart cities need energy-efficient and low-emission transportation for people and goods. Most studies focus on sustainable urban-transportation systems for passengers. Freight transportation in cities has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to greenhouse gases emissions and negative externalities, such as traffic congestion. The purpose of this paper is to identify through a systematic literature review which innovations (hardware and software) applied by logistics service providers (LSPs) in sustainable urban freight (SUF) are suitable to support the transition to energy-efficient smart cities. We propose to classify the existing innovations in last-mile delivery for SUF into categories: (1) urban freight consolidation and/or trans-shipment;(2) the Consumer as a Service Provider (CaaSP);(3) choice of transportation modes. We introduce the concept of CaaSP as an innovative solution in last-mile delivery (LMD), where customers take over some transport operations with the use of smart technologies, and thus reduce the energy demand. We consider the modes of transportation, such as: drones, autonomous delivery robots, autonomous vehicles, cargo bikes (including e-cargo bikes, e-tricycles), electric vehicles (mainly vans), and combined passenger-and-cargo transportation rapid-transit systems. From the analyzed dataset, we find that energy-efficiency in smart cities can be improved by the consolidation of parcels in micro-depots, parcel lockers, and mobile depots. We analyze smart technologies (the Internet of things, big data, artificial intelligence, and digital twins), which enable energy efficiency by reducing the energy demand (fuel) of SUF, due to better operational planning and infrastructure sharing by logistics service providers. We propose a new IEE matrix as an actionable tool for the classification of innovations applied by LSPs in SUF, according to the level of their interconnectivity and energy efficiency. Additionally, this paper contributes to the theory by exploring possible future research directions for SUF in energy-efficient smart cities. © 2023 by the authors.

Logistics during Covid-19 Pandemic: A Bibliometric Analysis.

The logistics sector was one of the most impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article aims to analyze the emerging trends on this subject using articles referring to studies related to the impact of the pandemic in engineering and related areas of knowledge, also looking for new research opportunities. A descriptive methodology was used through a systematic review of the literature. The publications in the "Engineering" area were filtered and the results were analyzed with the VOSviewer tool. Results show the relevance of the studies in the last mile. Likewise, opportunities were observed to carry out studies related to the transformation of retail.

EVALUATING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF LIGHTWEIGHT DRONES FOR DELIVERY: TOWARDS A SUITABLE METHODOLOGY FOR ASSESSMENT

Drone technology is widely available and is rapidly becoming a crucial instrument in the functions of businesses and government agencies worldwide. The demand for delivery services is accelerating particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic. Both companies and customers want these services to be efficient, timely, safe, and sustainable, but these are major challenges. Last-mile delivery by lightweight short-range drones has the potential to address these challenges. However, there is a lack of consistency and transparency in assessing and reporting the sustainability of last-mile delivery services and drones. This paper presents a critical review of published assessments (specifically lifecycle assessment and circularity). The study reveals a lack of comprehensive studies, and a need to examine composite and battery manufacturing developments and provides key considerations for future study development. © 2022 Mitchell et al.

Rural E-Customers' Preferences for Last Mile Delivery and Products Purchased via the Internet before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural e-customers' preferences in terms of last mile delivery and products purchased via the Internet. This paper is based on the theory of last mile delivery (with a strong focus on the methods of delivery) and customers' preferences. It combines both theories to fulfil the paper's goal. In the paper, the literature review and multivariate data analysis of rural e-customers in Poland were used. The hypothesis states that there is a requirement for different last mile delivery solutions in rural areas than in urban areas in Poland. The research was carried out on a sample of 1071 adult Poles, who are residents of rural areas, using the standardized and structured computer-assisted interview (CAWI). The authors used the chi-square independence test, the Student t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression models, and logistic models. The research shows that more than 60% of respondents living in rural areas order goods purchased online with a home delivery method and that online shopping preferences' changes are not so significant after the occurrence of COVID-19. Both before and after the pandemic, rural e-customers made online purchases most often 2–3 times a month. Nevertheless, some differences in the preferences of rural e-customers in terms of last mile delivery and purchasing preference can be seen considering their age, gender, or family size. The survey found that smaller families were more likely to choose free home delivery with a free return after the pandemic. The research presented in this paper provides essential information for courier companies, stores, and online platforms alike. Knowledge of preferences and their changes after the occurrence of COVID-19 can support the reorganization of last mile delivery to meet the needs of e-customers and to adapt to the increasing demands for sustainable transportation. © 2023 by the authors.

Forced digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to an unprecedented threat from COVID-19, the World Health Organization recommended the introduction of physical distancing measures, such as quarantine and social isolation. These measures have severely affected some sectors of the economy, hampering the development of many economic activities, especially retail. In this context, this article investigated strategies for the dissemination, commercialisation and distribution of goods during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly related to small companies that were not yet fully integrated with digital technologies. We perceived a forced digital transformation, disclosure on social networks, negotiating sales through text messaging applications, electronic payments and motorcycle and bicycle delivery service. The combination of different technologies has supported small businesses in times of pandemic, since commercialisation in digital media has been one of the main solutions for the prevention of bankruptcy, particularly for physical companies. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Community logistics: a dynamic strategy for facilitating immediate parcel delivery to smart lockers

The COVID Pandemic since early 2019 has imposed significant effects on our life. In the retail and logistics sector, the large-scale national lockdown has drastically driven e-commerce sales because the e-marketplace has become the only sales channel. Whilst the pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a more digital world and led to an irreversible dependence on e-commerce retailing, the pressure is on retailers and logistics service providers to respond to the growing demand for immediate delivery in the e-commerce era. Given the integration of smart lockers into developing a more favourable environment which potentially makes immediate delivery more feasible, this paper introduces a novel, dynamic delivery strategy, namely Community Logistics Strategy (CLS), for formulating and updating the new delivery plan in real time as new delivery requests to smart lockers arrive. To shed light on the effect of dynamic order arrival towards delivery planning, the CLS attempts to update the delivery plan by taking new requests into account in real time. Simulation results reveal the superiority of the proposed strategy in managing e-commerce delivery requests, especially within megacities where consumers are highly dense in a compact geographical area.

Recent applications for improving the last-mile delivery in urbanism logistics

Along with the increase in population, the increase in demand for freight in e-commerce has complicated the transportation of goods with increasing transportation costs. The demand for e-commerce has also increased rapidly, especially during the current outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic. Along with this need, the paper presents the current situation of freight transportation in the last mile of the e-commerce industry and new trends to improve the conditions in the last-mile delivery. Through published studies, several applications in last-mile delivery have also been identified for comparison with other costing methods. Studies also show that the application of new technologies in last-mile delivery can optimise costs, the environment, as well as delivery policies for companies. The paper also points out that the difficulty in applying and managing new technologies is very complicated and requires policies from managers. This can also be considered a new research direction that contributes to promoting new technologies in last-mile delivery to reduce time and costs for delivery companies as well as customer costs for last-mile delivery. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Last Mile Delivery Transformation as a Method to Improve Customer Experience in Post-COVID-19 Russia and the World

The final leg of the supply chain: the last mile delivery on the one hand is considered the most problematic part of the delivery process, but on the other hand it contributes to customer satisfaction the most. In its turn, customer experience (CX) is now just as important an element of the brand perception as the product offering. Customers are constantly looking for more personalized, convenient, and secure ways of getting the delivery service. Studies show that for many shoppers, efficient and fast deliveries are becoming the top priority coming before the price of goods. An increase in customer demand for service quality and the boom of e-commerce has led to the development of new ways of last-mile delivery solutions, that optimize customer experience and contribute to building strong relationships between the customer and the brand. In this study, we attempt to review the transformations that LMD has gone through in recent years during the COVID-19 pandemic both because of the challenges and new opportunities companies faced as well as the changes in the customer behaviour and customer experience. We will also try to provide some insights on the possible future development of LMD. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Sustainable Urban Last-Mile Logistics: A Systematic Literature Review

Globalisation, urbanisation and the recent COVID-19 pandemic has been raising the demand for logistic activities. This change is affecting the entire supply chain, especially the last-mile step. This step is considered the most expensive and ineffective part of the supply chain and a source of negative economic, environmental and social externalities. This article aims to characterise the sustainable urban last-mile logistics research field through a systematic literature review (N = 102). This wide and holistic review was organised into six thematic clusters that identified the main concepts addressed in the different areas of the last-mile research and the existence of 14 solutions, grouped into three types (vehicular, operational, and organisational solutions). The major findings are that there are no ideal last-mile solutions as their limitations should be further explored by considering the so-called "triple bottom line of sustainability”;the integration and combination of multiple last-mile alternative concepts;or by establishing collaboration schemes that minimise the stakeholders' conflicting interests. © 2023 by the authors.

Innovative solutions in last mile delivery: concepts, practices, challenges, and future directions

In the last decade, e-commerce has been growing consistently. Fostered by the covid pandemic, online retail has grown exponentially, particularly in industries including food, clothing, groceries, and many others. This growth in online retailing activities has raised critical logistic challenges, especially in the last leg of the distribution, commonly referred to as the Last Mile. For instance, traditional truck-based home delivery has reached its limit within metropolitan areas and can no longer be an effective delivery method. Driven by technological progress, several other logistic solutions have been deployed as innovative alternatives to deliver parcels. This includes delivery by drones, smart parcel stations, robots, and crowdsourcing, among others. In this setting, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of the latest trends in last-mile delivery solutions from both industry and academic perspectives (see Figure 1 for overview). We use a content analysis literature review to analyse over 80 relevant publications, derive the necessary features of the latest innovation in the last mile delivery, and point out their different maturity levels and the related theoretical and operational challenges. (Figure presented.). © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Service supply chain resilience: a social-ecological perspective on last-mile delivery operations

Purpose: Considering the last-mile delivery service supply chain as a social-ecological system rather than just a firm-based service system, this research exploit the COVID-19 pandemic disruption to investigate how the supply chain develops resilience from a viewpoint that integrates a social-ecological perspective with the traditional engineering one. Design/methodology/approach: This research adopt a multi-case study approach using qualitative data collected via semi-structured interviews with executive-level managers from nine leading UK last-mile delivery companies. Data analysis is guided by a research framework which is developed by combining the social-ecological perspective with the structure–conduct–performance paradigm. This framework aids the investigation of the impacts of external challenges on companies' resilience strategies and practices, as well as performance, in response to disruptions. Findings: The research identifies three distinct pathways to resilience development: stabilization, focussing on bouncing back to the original normal;adaptation, involving evolutionary changes to a new normal;transformation, involving revolutionary changes in pursuit of a new normal-plus. Three strategic orientations are identified as operating across these pathways: people orientation, digital orientation, and learning orientation. Originality/value: In contrast to the manufacturing supply chain focus of most current research, this research concentrates on the service supply chain, investigating its resilience with a social-ecological perspective alongside the traditional engineering one. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

An Autonomous Modular Mobility Paradigm

In the United States, public transit vehicles have a very low average load factor (10.1-12.4%), resulting in an excessive waste of seat capacity and poor fuel economy per passenger mile served. This problem is gravely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which at its peak had caused more than 70% reduction in transit ridership nationwide. On the other hand, the rapid uptake of e-commerce, also accelerated by the pandemic, has put tremendous pressure on last-mile delivery. A co-modality system that integrates transit services with last-mile logistics offers a promising solution to better utilization/sharing of vehicle capacity and supporting infrastructure. Here we show such a system may be implemented based on Autonomous Modular Vehicle Technology (AMVT). At the core of AMVT is the ability to operate a fleet of modular autonomous vehicles or pods that can be moved, stationed, joined, and separated in real time. Coupling modularity with autonomy is poised to enable co-modality and beyond. We describe an AMVT bimodality system that provides integrated public transit and last-mile logistics services with a fleet of pods and discuss relevant research challenges and opportunities, research approaches, and real-world adoption issues. © 2009-2012 IEEE.