Abstract
“Last mile” delivery has become one of the bottlenecks of e-logistics. This paper aims to explore the competitiveness of three “Last mile” delivery modes—attended home delivery (AHD), reception box (RB), and collection-and-delivery points (CDPs) in different scenarios, especially in high population density scenario. The advantages and disadvantages of each mode are introduced first. Then each mode’s operation efficiency is solved with different kinds of vehicle routing problem (VRP) models and genetic algorithm (GA). Finally the cost of each mode is calculated on the basis of cost structures and operation efficiencies. The results show that different modes are suitable for different scenarios: (i) AHD and independent reception box work better in a scenario with sparse population or small order quantity; (ii) shared reception box and CDPs are more appropriate in the scenario with high population density and large order quantity, and the better one depends on the cost of labors and facilities; (iii) RB is desirable in some circumstances as delivering fresh vegetables and fruits to the ones living in high-grade communities.
Highlights
E-commerce develops rapidly in recent years [1]
This paper mainly explores the competitiveness of three delivery modes in different scenarios, especially in high-density areas, in view of China’s high population density
Punakivi et al compared attended home delivery (AHD) and RB from the perspective of cost and payback period. They found that up to 60% cost reductions are achievable by using RB, and the operational cost of delivery box is on the same level as the reception box when delivery boxes are not picked up until the delivery time [11]
Summary
E-commerce develops rapidly in recent years [1]. Ecommerce can hardly do without the support of e-logistics. The “last mile” delivery which accounts for 30% of total e-logistics cost [3] has become one of the bottlenecks of e-commerce. Nowadays, attended home delivery (AHD), reception box (RB), and collection-and-delivery points (CDPs) are the three existing “last mile” delivery modes in China. This paper mainly explores the competitiveness of three delivery modes in different scenarios, especially in high-density areas, in view of China’s high population density. High population density leads to high residential density [4, 5]. Population density has an important effect on delivery efficiency [6]
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