Abstract
In this paper, a review of the recent scientific literature contributions on innovative strategies for last mile logistics, focusing on externalities cost reduction, is presented. Transport is causing problems in urban areas, in particular in freight transport: modern cities need solutions to reduce externalities costs such as congestion, pollution and others, which have increased in the last few years, especially due to the growth of goods delivery. Online sales and globalization lead to new trends in freight transport, and moreover, a larger quantity of goods is expected to be delivered in the next future. In this context, most of the delivered goods end up in the city centers. Last mile logistics is the least efficient stage of the supply chain and comprises up to 28% of the total delivery cost. Therefore, the improvement of last mile logistics and a significant externalities reduction are very important challenges for researchers. New technologies and transport means, innovative techniques and organizational strategies allow handling in a more effective way the last mile delivery in urban areas. Based on the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method, recent papers that significantly contributed, with original proposals, to the reduction of externalities in urban logistics are identified and analyzed in this work. Furthermore, a classification of the papers dealing with the externality reduction problem is presented. It is consistent with a general formulation proposed to evaluate external costs in urban area. The innovative contributions are classified into five main categories: innovative vehicles, proximity stations or points, collaborative and cooperative urban logistics, optimization of transport management and routing, innovations in public policies and infrastructures. The new paradigm of smart logistics is based on the combination of these concepts and on the proposed innovations.
Highlights
Data analysis shows a steady growth in European Union (EU) freight transport over the last 20 years, with the exceptions of 2007 and 2008 [1]
The aim of the proposed review is to answer the question whether there are innovative technologies and/or methods presented in recent years that can significantly reduce the externalities produced in the urban area from last mile delivery activities
Literature reviews on last mile delivery focus on transport and climate change, and impacts due to urban freight transport in home delivery are faced in [26,27]; to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no works that consider innovations in last mile delivery aiming at reducing externalities costs in urban areas; it is an emerging topic in recent years
Summary
Data analysis shows a steady growth in EU freight transport over the last 20 years, with the exceptions of 2007 and 2008 [1]. The aim of the proposed review is to answer the question whether there are innovative technologies and/or methods presented in recent years that can significantly reduce the externalities produced in the urban area from last mile delivery activities. Literature reviews on last mile delivery focus on transport and climate change, and impacts due to urban freight transport in home delivery are faced in [26,27]; to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no works that consider innovations in last mile delivery aiming at reducing externalities costs in urban areas; it is an emerging topic in recent years.
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