Hybrid Truck-Drone Delivery Systems: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Owing to the continued development of e-commerce, logisticians now have an outstanding obligation to tackle last-mile delivery challenges. A number of logistics providers have suggested the incorporation of drones with trucks to provide a more flexible delivery system. This paper analyzes the content of 95 publications related to hybrid truck-drone delivery systems (HTDDS) in the context of last-mile delivery. First, a brief overview of the potential implementation of drone delivery systems is presented, including their integration with other vehicles. The overview aims to demonstrate the operational characteristics of such systems and their implications. Then, the surveyed literature is classified based on vehicles roles, system configuration, problem formulation, and solution methods. In relation to this research, several key findings and potential research directions are discussed. Despite the high level of interest in HTDDS research, it is still in its early phases and requires improvements in various areas. The payload capacity, speed, range, and energy consumption are all factors that must be considered in the modeling of drone characteristics. Almost all studies identify customer requests before the delivery operation begins. However, customer demands for immediate delivery present an opportunity for real-time optimization to provide solutions for e-commerce activities. Environmental issues are developing, as the last-mile delivery problem is regarded as the most polluting portion of the supply chain. Thus, more consideration should be given to the environmental impact of HTDDS. Finally, research on drone routing related to air traffic management has received relatively little attention.