Agent-Based Simulation Model for Evaluating Urban Freight Policy to E-Commerce

Roberta Alves,David Custódio De Sena,Alexandre Ferreira De Pinho,José Holguín-Veras,Renato Da Silva Lima

doi:10.3390/su11154020

Abstract

This study aims to assess delivery lockers as a last-mile solution, considering the behavior and interaction among e-commerce stakeholders. In Brazil, a large portion of deliveries are attended home. This results in a large number of failed deliveries and redelivery attempts, which can reach up to three delivery attempts. Delivery lockers (DL) represent a solution to reduce the number of re-deliveries and consolidate the delivery of goods. The implementation of DL and the exclusion of the third delivery attempt are evaluated in this study via an agent-based simulation model (ABSM) in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Four scenarios were simulated by varying delivery locker implementation and the exclusion of the third attempts, which allowed comparable results to be obtained for each agent, in terms of gains and operational and external costs (emission, noise, and congestion). The scenario that most closely resembles the current situation was the one that presented the worst results. The implementation of the lockers brings improvements to this scenario in terms of reducing re-deliveries and distances traveled by trucks. When the possibility of three delivery attempts is excluded, the benefits are even greater. The deployment of lockers also enables carriers to reduce the number of trucks required to make deliveries, thereby increasing their profits.

Highlights

Brazilian e-commerce underwent increasing growth rates in recent years
We demonstrated that an agent-based simulation model is a useful tool for modeling urban freight transport
The implementation of the delivery lockers brought improvements to this scenario in terms of reducing the re-deliveries and distances traveled by the trucks

Summary

Introduction

Brazilian e-commerce underwent increasing growth rates in recent years. While traditional retail sales grew by 2.3% in 2018 compared to 2017, e-commerce grew by 15% with a revenue equivalent of about $ 20 billion [1]. Despite the fact that these vehicles contribute significantly to congestion and CO2 emissions, they play an essential part in urban economies by delivering goods to commercial establishments, which meet consumption demands of the population [5,6,7]. Online retailers are starting to offer alternatives to ration last-mile delivery, many of Sustainability 2019, 11, 4020 them based on deliveries that are not sent to home address [2] These alternative systems allow more packages to be delivered to a smaller number of locations without the risk of delivery failure, which leads to a reduction in the unit cost of delivery. They are automated lockers operated from an electronic code, where carriers use this code to inform customers about the status of their orders [13]

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Discussion

Conclusion