Parcel Delivery Research Articles

Review Paper on the Field Measurement of Parcel Packaging Drop for Testing Purposes

ABSTRACTThe parcel delivery shipping industry has developed rapidly all over the world in the last 10–15 years. These parcel packages are generally small and have a high risk of damage due to the numerous handling events during delivery services. Inefficient packaging solutions can lead to significant costs and increase the occurrence of product damage. This problem is widely known, and packaging engineers have tried to simulate field physical events in the laboratory to optimize the protective packaging system. Drop events during parcel delivery are one of the primary causes of damage for small individual shipments and need to be precisely simulated to achieve optimized product protection. Over the past 50 years, drop tests have become common practice as a pre‐shipment test for parcel packages, and many devices have been developed to measure and observe these physical events during package transit. Due to the nature of packages and their variations, different field measurements and observations have been presented across continents and countries and have been implemented in general practices. A review of drop event observations is required to summarize and critically evaluate recent results. This review begins with an overview of the drop observation methods [real drop height (RDH) and effective drop height (EDH)], then discusses methods proposed by standards organizations, followed by a focus on the setup and materials of measuring systems used by researchers to record the events. Finally, a summary of previous results is presented, which can serve as a guide for further research on the topic.

Underground encased freight delivery system (EFDS) contributing to sustainability

The growing demand for freight logistics in urban areas has led to traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and noise pollution, which have negative environmental impacts and contribute to the rising cost of freight delivery transportation. An alternative radical solution is to provide an encased freight delivery system (EFDS), sending freight in wagons on rails, powered by electro-motive green energy. The EFDS design is secure, intelligent and is a low carbon footprint transport system for delivering freight through buried, suspended or overground pipes. Demonstrating the value of an EFDS includes finding optimal routes connecting the highest demand in a region providing highest social value, as well as maximizing the efficiency of the system. At the same time, the system should be commercially viable and have a low environmental impact during the implementation and operation phases. Results of modelling reveal that when EFDS is used, less HGVs are used in the form of traditional logistics to deliver the same number of parcels. On the other hand, when the number of vehicles (wagons) of the EFDS is increased, as well as their capacity, this enables the effective delivery of more parcels while the speed of these vehicles was found to have little impact. A case study in East London indicates 925 number of trucks can be removed from roads, and capacity for growth in freight movement would be provided when the EFDS is at full capacity, noting that new pipes can always be added to different locations if viable routes are found.

Analysis of Parcel Delivery Issues at ‘State Parcel Company’: An Examination of Customer Complaints and Interrelationships

Analysis of Parcel Delivery Issues at ‘State Parcel Company’: An Examination of Customer Complaints and Interrelationships

Usability Analysis of A Package Tracking System Using The System Usability Scale Method

The Main Branch Post Office (Kantor Pos Cabang Utama, KCU) Madiun, as part of the Pos Indonesia network, plays a key role in managing parcel deliveries, document handling, and financial transactions in Madiun and surrounding areas. The delivery process includes three main stages: First Mail, Middle Mail, and Last Mail. In the First Mail stage, mail and parcels are collected at counters from various sources such as post offices, mailboxes, or customers. In the Middle Mail stage, items are sorted by officers based on their final destinations. Finally, in the Last Mail stage, parcels are sorted again by specific routes or locations within the city before being delivered directly to recipients by couriers.This research focuses on evaluating and improving the user interface of the "Tracking System," a digital tool used to monitor shipments across these stages. To measure its usability and user-friendliness, the System Usability Scale (SUS) method was employed, involving 10 statements for respondents, who were selected from system users. The study's findings reveal that the tracking system is categorized as "OK" in adjective ratings and "Marginal" in terms of acceptability. These results highlight areas for improvement in the system to better support the growing demands of digital postal services while ensuring user satisfaction.

Mobile home delivery parcel lockers

The demand for last-mile parcel delivery services is expected to increase. Great efforts are therefore being made to develop new ideas for more efficient last-mile delivery. One of the more recent concepts are Mobile Parcel Lockers (MPL), which can be easily repositioned to meet the actual daily demand for deliveries. In this work, we introduce the Mobile Home Delivery Parcel Locker (MHDPL) problem. Therein, a single vehicle can provide both, MPL service and Attended Home Deliveries (AHD), the current industry standard. Hence, the MHDPL problem integrates two characteristics: the simultaneous delivery of many customers as with MPLs, and the delivery of particularly remote customers in a short time as with AHDs. We present a mathematical formulation and propose an Iterated Local Search (ILS) as a solution approach. Since our ILS works on a time-space network, we introduce new problem and network-specific operators. The performance of the ILS is evaluated and the efficiency of the new service is analyzed in terms of various instance and customer characteristics, comparing it to dedicated MPL and AHD services. Our computational analysis reveals that the combination of services has economic potential and satisfies customer preferences more effectively. According to our study, an average MHDPL vehicle can serve 21% more customers than a comparable AHD vehicle.

Drones and Privacy: The Indian Story

In the 21st century, the industry of drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), has witnessed an exponential growth, more so in civilian applications, such as surveillance and parcel delivery. From its traditional use in military operations for over a century, drones have readily been introduced in various industries ranging from agriculture, media, mining, insurance to mention a few, due to its revolutionary benefits and affordability. However, the use of drone technology has its pitfalls too. Its intricate software and hardware have the ability to use a variety of sensors to gather information/data from unique vantage points-for long periods and on a continuous basis. The prospect of having every move, every action, being monitored and possibly recorded, raises grave privacy concerns. This paper is aimed to offer a brief introduction to the concept of drones, associated privacy risks/concerns, the extant regulatory regime and finally concludes with suggestions and countermeasures to mitigate the risk.

Considering Socially Scalable Human-Robot Interfaces

Collaborative robots are becoming increasingly present in everyday life, with applications ranging food and parcel delivery, security, and more. They can offer great value propositions for organizations and consumers. However, most people lack knowledge of how to interact with robots, and many robots themselves necessitate formal training that can be inaccessible to many and thus not societally scalable. Further, there is a lack of existing work investigating interfaces designs that can support non-dyadic interactions consisting of two or more individuals interacting with a robot sequentially and simultaneously; such interactions will be common in real-world usage. This research explores the efficacy of natural language interfaces for human–robot interaction through a human experiment and post-experiment survey. Results show that the natural language interface can afford teams enhanced capabilities to share robot control and avoid errors relative to other interfaces, while also increasing user perceptions towards overall interaction.

Trends in parcel delivery driver injury: Evidence from NEISS-Work

Introduction: The rise of e-commerce has rapidly increased the proportion of goods delivered directly to customers’ homes. These increases have placed notable demands on delivery personnel, with potential health and safety consequences. In this paper, we examined trends in parcel delivery driver injury through analyses of injuries treated in emergency departments (ED) in the United States from 2015 through 2022. Methodology: We explored trends among Couriers and Messengers as well as Postal Service personnel as designated by Bureau of Census (BOC) industry codes. We estimated counts and rates of injuries per 10,000 full time worker equivalents and examined demographics (e.g., age, sex) and other characteristics (e.g., source of injury, injury diagnosis) associated with these injuries. Results: We found that: (1) ED-treated injury rates between 2015 and 2022, among both the Postal Service and Couriers and Messengers, have demonstrated an upward trajectory, contrasting with overall U.S. industry injury rates, which have trended downward; and (2) while ED-treated injury rates for these industries have taken different paths over time, both industries’ ED-treated injury rates have converged toward a position much higher than average. Moreover, we found that female personnel and young personnel disproportionately experienced ED injuries. Conclusions: In addition to calling attention to worrying injury trends among delivery drivers, we conclude that the current data landscape prevents the development of a nuanced picture of injury trends and hazards. These limits inhibit exploration of many specific hazards, and therefore preventive measures that would be designed based on such specific exploration. Practical Applications: Our results serve both as a foundation toward improved safety practices in an industry that continues to experience rapid changes and as a step toward motivating updated data collection and dissemination practices that could help understanding of the modern workplace injury landscape.

Corona crisis disruptions and consequences for demand for freight transport: A screening of the effects for the largest logistics service providers in Norway

The present article investigates corona crisis disruptions and consequences for freight transport demand, using shipment data from major logistic service providers in Norway, as well as interviews. We investigate how Covid-19 affected demand for freight transport and transport volumes in different segments, changes for parcel delivery, home-deliveries, which industries were most affected and discussed main issues for LSPs in maintaining robust transport chains. We find temporary reductions in B2B deliveries after the first Norwegian societal lockdown but large volume increases in B2C deliveries, which remained at higher levels and saw further waves of increases. Especially home deliveries and mailbox deliveries of parcels increased, particularly in relation with new infection waves. At an aggregate level, retail trade experienced by far the largest volume increases, followed by transport and storage. The latter can in part be due to increasing low-volume import (parcels) from abroad being attributed to e.g. warehouses or customs. At the other end of the scale, wholesale trade stands out with the largest tonnage decrease, followed by manufacturing.

Ride Sharing Mobile Application Optimised with Courier Service

The Cab Sharing Mobile Application with Integrated Courier Service merges passenger ride-sharing with parcel delivery to enhance urban transportation and streamline logistics. This dual-function platform maximizes vehicle utilization by enabling both commuter ride-sharing and parcel delivery within a single system. The application pairs passengers traveling in similar directions, facilitating shared rides that lower travel expenses and reduce emissions, which is beneficial for the environment. Additionally, it leverages available space in shared cabs to transport parcels, offering cost-effective, same-day delivery solutions. Through an advanced algorithm, the app efficiently plans routes to balance the needs of passengers and parcel drop-offs, minimizing delays. Key features like real-time tracking, secure payment options, and a feedback mechanism ensure a smooth, reliable experience for users. Index Terms— Cab sharing, Parcel delivery, Eco-friendly transport, Ride-sharing

Enhancing offshore parcel delivery efficiency through vessel-unmanned aerial vehicle collaborative routing

Offshore oil and gas production is vital for global energy supply, but it faces logistical challenges due to the high costs and inefficiencies of traditional supply methods. This paper introduces the vessel-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) routing problem with multiple visits in a single flight (VURP-M), a novel logistical model that addresses aimed at enhancing the replenishment of offshore platforms with small, essential items. The VURP-M allows the UAV to perform multiple visits during a single flight, optimising the delivery process. To tackle the VURP-M, we propose two mixed-integer second-order cone programs that capture the problem's complexities. Given its NP-hard nature, we employ an adaptive large neighbourhood search (ALNS) method, featuring a segmented initialisation process and problem-specific operators guided by a rule-based mechanism to improve solution efficiency. The ALNS formulates an initial solution by solving a travelling salesman problem to create a giant tour, which is then used to group sequential targets into multiple UAV flights. The subsequent optimal resolution of a SOCP determines the take-off and landing points for each flight. Subsequently, the ALNS refines the initial solution through destroy and repair operators, enhancing the search for superior sequences and allocation schemes. The effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated through a real-world case study and numerical experiments on random instances featuring up to 100 platforms. The results offer implications of the collaborative vessel-UAV model for the offshore logistics industry.

A two-echelon multi-trip vehicle routing problem with synchronization for an integrated water- and land-based transportation system

This study focuses on two-echelon synchronized logistics problems in the context of integrated water- and land-based transportation (IWLT) systems. The aim is to meet the increasing demand in city logistics as a result of the growth in transport activities, including parcel delivery, food delivery, and waste collection. We propose two models, a novel mixed integer linear joint model, and a logic-based Benders’ decomposition (LBBD) model, for a two-echelon problem under realistic settings such as multi-trips, time windows, and synchronization at the satellites with no storage and limited resource capacities. The objective is to optimize transfers and satellite assignments, thereby reducing overall logistics costs for street vehicles and vessels. Computational experiments demonstrate that the LBBD model is more robust in terms of solution quality and solution time on average while the added value of the LBBD is more evident when solving large-scale instances with 100 customers, reducing the overall costs by 10.6% on average and significantly reducing the fleet costs on both networks. Furthermore, we assess the effect of changing cost parameters and satellite locations in the proposed IWLT system–analyzing system behavior and suggesting potential improvements–and evaluate several system alternatives in city logistics–consisting of different transportation network designs (single- and two-echelon), vehicle types, and operational constraints. On average, the proposed two-echelon IWLT system reduces the number of kilometers traveled by vehicles at street level by ranging from 20% to 30% compared to a typical single-echelon service design that relies solely on trucks.

Review of the application of drones for smart cities

AbstractIn an area of increasing digitalisation and rapid technological development, information management is becoming essential for the effective functioning of modern organisations and cities. One of the new trends is the gradual expansion and use of drones in parts of the smart cities concept. In security, drones are used to protect public order, monitor traffic in cities and municipalities, and control sub‐activities falling under the competence of police forces. In rescue work, drones allow us to efficiently and quickly manage accidental emergencies in hard‐to‐reach areas. At the same time, in the transport sector, drones have become an important component for the efficient delivery of parcels, reducing overall costs and time savings. This paper systematically overviews the importance of drones in various fields such as security, transportation, rescue operations or parcel delivery. Drones are becoming key elements for public order, crisis management and enhancing the quality of life of citizens in smart cities due to their capabilities of rapid response, monitoring hard‐to‐reach locations and autonomous data collection. Particular attention is then paid to comparing the use of drones in the Czech Republic and abroad and their benefits in the field of innovative technologies that help improve the safety and efficiency of urban services. The article also analyses the technical specifications of drones and their role in the public and private sectors, considering the legislative framework for their use. Overall, the article offers an overview of how drones contribute to integrating modern technologies into the daily functioning of smart cities and improving residents' quality of life.

Supply Chain Management in Smart City Manufacturing Clusters: An Alternative Approach to Urban Freight Mobility with Electric Vehicles

The development of green production types such as personalized production and shared manufacturing, which use additive technologies in city multifloor manufacturing clusters (CMFMCs), has led to an increase in last-mile parcel delivery (LMPD) activity. This study investigates the integration of electric vehicles and crowdshipping systems into smart CMMCs to improve urban logistics operations related to the distribution of products to consumers. The aim of this study is to improve the LMPD performance of these integrated systems and to provide alternative solutions for sustainable city logistics using the potential of crowdshipping and vehicle sharing fleets (VSFs) in the city logistics nodes (CLNs) of CMFMCs. The issues presented by the loading–unloading operations and sustainable crowdshipping scenarios for LMPD in CMFMCs are considered. This paper presents a new performance evaluation model for crowdshipping LMPD in CMFMCs using VSFs. The case study shows that the proposed model enables the analysis of LMPD performance in CMFMCs, taking into account their finite production capacity, and that it facilitates the planning of cargo turnover and the structure of VSFs consisting of e-bicycles, e-cars, and e-light commercial vehicles (e-LCVs). The model is verified based on a case study for sustainable LMPD scenarios using VSFs. The proposed model enables the planning of both short- and long-term logistics operations with the specified performance indicator of VSF usage in CMFMCs. The validity of using the integrated potential of crowdshipping and vehicle sharing services for LMPD under demand uncertainty in CMFMCs is discussed. This study should prove useful for decision-making and planning processes related to LMPD in CMFMCs and large cities.

UAV p­­­arcel Delivery System with Deep Reinforcement Learning Based Collision Avoidance and Route Optimization

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, have recently become a favorable solution for fast parcel delivery due to their maneuverability and advances in navigation technologies. With the limitation of battery capacity and payload of drones, it is crucial to consider both efficiency and cost while conducting the tasks. Meanwhile, UAVs should not collide with each other while traveling to customers. In this article, we propose a UAV parcel delivery system involving deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach for collision avoidance and a genetic algorithm for route optimization. Specifically, a delivery center generates near-optimal routes, loading UAV with parcels according to demands. Each UAV takes charge of delivering packages in compliance with the assigned route while avoiding collision with each other. We utilize DRL to achieve collision avoidance without having prior knowledge about the trajectories of other UAVs. Additionally, we adopt a genetic algorithm to obtain the lowest energy cost path for each UAV. To find such an optimized path, we solve a capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) with a modified cost function and extra constraints. Realistic simulations using a physics engine and software-in-the-loop (SITL) are conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed methods.

Managing the road safety risks of last mile deliveries: Do telematics have a role to play?

Objective The research aimed to understand the impact of telematics in reducing traffic violations and crashes among drivers working in parcel delivery and the perceived utility, effectiveness, and acceptability of telematics among drivers using them. The objective was to carry out an online survey among drivers who have telematics versus drivers who do not and compare their behaviors in terms of risks and violations controlling for key demographics an exposure. Methods An online anonymous survey was conducted of 780 home delivery drivers of which 430 used telematics in 2022. The survey was conducted by a fieldwork company and participants were compensated for their time. Univariate and multivariate analysis was conducted on the data. Results Telematics users did not report less crashes than drivers who did not use telematics. Most drivers, irrespective of telematics use agreed that the time pressure of delivery work increased speed limit violations and unsafe or hazardous parking. Multivariate analysis indicated that damage collisions for all drivers were associated with factors such as, driving medium to large vans, hazardous behavior related to parking, and having penalties for violations, especially related to speed. Delivery drivers, while generally facing pressure to speed and take risks to meet delivery schedules, did perceive telematics as a tool for safety enhancement and information dissemination, as well as for the management of performance. Non-telematics users viewed it with skepticism. Conclusions Telematics alone may not ensure the safety of last-mile deliveries and could potentially increase the pressure of deliveries. This research underscores the need for a holistic approach to road safety in the home delivery sector, combining telematics technology with a proactive safety culture.

Optimizing an express delivery mode based on high-speed railway and crowd-couriers

The rapid development of e-commerce has led to various challenges in the express delivery industry. To provide efficient and economical delivery services, this study introduces a joint transportation system for parcel delivery utilizing high-speed railway (HSR) and crowd-couriers. In this system, long-haul transportation between cities is conducted by HSR, which enables multiple transshipments in different operation lines. The pre-haul parcel pickup and end-haul delivery services within the city are performed by crowd-couriers, thus achieving door-to-door transportation. A mathematical model is developed to jointly optimize the freight allocation problem in the rail segment and the crowd-courier routing problem in the road segment. The freight allocation problem is formulated based on the concept of transportation plans. The transportation plans with and without transshipments are found by a depth-first search-based algorithm in the rail segment. A customized heuristic algorithm based on the adaptive large neighborhood search with multiple operators is designed to find a near-optimal solution. A set of numerical experiments demonstrates the speed and accuracy with which the proposed method solves different-sized versions of problem. A sensitivity analysis based on a real HSR network is also conducted to provide more reliable managerial insights for operators.

The use of sound phonons in the development of NVH treatments for light commercial electric vehicles

Light Commercial Electric vehicles (LCEV) are becoming increasingly popular due to their environmental benefits and lower operating costs, making them a sustainable choice for businesses looking to reduce their carbon footprint and save fuel expenses. However, unlike Saloon and SUV electric vehicles LCEV's have to be potentially configured for a wide variety of operating roles including parcel delivery, mini-buses, retail wagons, ambulances and mobile workshops to name just a few. Consequently, when considering their refinement aspects during their development it has become economically restrictive to base this on actual physical prototypes. Acoustic modelling provides a suitable alternative, but any software package must be highly flexible so that multiple configurations can be examined without requiring time consuming re-modelling. This paper describes the use of sound phonons in an interactive GUI for the successful development process of an LCEV from target setting through to final optimised NVH package creation. The project involved full vehicle model creation via donor CAD, of a current ICE LCV, which was morphed into an EV to include an under-floor battery and rear drive system. Sub-system models of areas such as the interior bulkhead, battery pack insulation and EV encapsulation were also integrated during the optimisation process.

Through-Window Home Aerial Delivery System with In-Flight Parcel Load and Handover: Design and Validation in Indoor Scenario

This paper presents the design, development, and validation in indoor scenario of an aerial delivery system intended to conduct the delivery of light parcels directly to the user through the window of his/her home, motivated by the convenience of facilitating the access to medicines to people with reduced mobility.The system consists of a fully-actuated multi-rotor (FAMR) equipped with a front basket where the parcel to be delivered is loaded by a lightweight and compliant anthropomorphic dual arm system (LiCAS) located at the supply point, using one of the arms to drop the parcel in the basket while the other arm holds its base to support the sudden moment exerted at the FAMR. The paper analyses four types of physical interactions raised during the operation on flight: (1) sudden changes in the mass distribution of the FAMR during the load/unload phase, affecting the multi-rotor position-attitude controllers, (2) impact and impulsive forces exerted by the human on the FAMR to demonstrate the reliability and robustness of conventional cascade controllers, (3) passive accommodation of the LiCAS while holding the FAMR during the parcel load, relying on the mechanical joint compliance, and (4) compliant human–FAMR interaction, interpreting the multi-rotor pose control error as a Cartesian/angular deflection to implement an admittance controller that allows the user guiding the platform. Experimental results allow the identification and characterization of these effects for different payload masses. The execution of the complete operation, involving the parcel load with the LiCAS and handover by the user through a window, is validated in a representative indoor scenario.Graphical

Designing a sustainable delivery network with parcel locker systems as collection and transfer points

Collection and delivery points, both attended and fully automated, have emerged as a popular solution in last-mile delivery. They offer not only operational advantages for the delivery company but also present a pathway to mitigating the negative environmental impact of parcel delivery operations. In this study, we explore a new approach, where parcel locker systems have a dual role: as collection points for customers and as transfer points for the delivery company. We introduce a variant of the Location-Routing Problem, optimizing the strategic location and capacity size of parcel locker systems as well as the delivery routes from those points. We develop an efficient branch-and-price algorithm and apply it to a real-life case study that focuses on the design of a delivery network with parcel lockers in a residential neighborhood in the city of Groningen, the Netherlands. Our case study findings underscore that the dual role of parcel locker systems considerably reduces the travel distance of delivery vehicles, is well-suited to deal with potential future increase in demand for parcel collection, and reduces the likelihood of customers traveling to parcel locker by car.