Micro-depots site selection for last-mile delivery, considering the needs of post-pandemic parcel recipients

ABSTRACT

The pandemic has changed consumer habits, leading to an increase in parcel delivery and changing consumer requirements. Last-mile delivery has become more important than ever. Parcel delivery providers face a major challenge, as research shows that many consumers will maintain the same shopping habits as during the pandemic. It is, therefore, necessary to find sustainable and not just short-term solutions for the last-mile delivery. Identifying suitable locations for micro-depots in urban areas and delivery with e-cargo bicycles can be one of them. This article has two objectives: (1) to determine whether the changes brought by Covid-19 affect the selection of the appropriate micro-depot site and to what extent;and (2) whether the extension of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) by evaluating the technical efficiency of micro-depo sites locations changes the ranking of most favourable locations and to what extent. We first gathered existing criteria for selecting a suitable micro-depot location through a literature review. Then, a qualitative and quantitative analysis were performed to check suitability of criteria and complement the current set of criteria with potential new criteria resulting from Covid-19. A real numerical example of one of the past researches was selected to perform Delphi and super-efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) analysis. Results of Delphi analysis, where the AHP was applied, revealed that Covid-19 had not affected the type of stakeholders' demands (city administration, citizens and logistics companies) taken into account, but their importance. However, upgrading the AHP with a super-efficient DEA model has completely changed the order of the most relevant micro-depot locations. © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.