Publication
Title
The e-commerce parcel delivery market and the implications of home B2C deliveries vs pick-up points
Author
Abstract
The last mile has been characterised as the most expensive and complicated part of the supply chain, featuring negative impacts on pollution and congestion in densely populated areas. The arrival of e-commerce has accentuated the number of individual home deliveries, increasing the flows in the last-mile. Investigating how to improve the efficiency of logistics in urban areas is a major driver for the success of e-commerce, and contributes to alleviating the negative externalities of urban freight transport derived from it. By means of interviews and empirical analysis, this article targets two goals. Firstly, to conciliate different perspectives about the structure and cost drivers in the market. Secondly, within this framework, to propose a cost model for two of the most popular methods of last-mile delivery: the home delivery and delivery through pick-up points. Main findings: It is concluded that the parcel delivery market remains under a strong competition, driven by efficiency and with little space for innovations. Parcel delivery companies have been handling with failed deliveries via different solutions. While failed deliveries have an impact on the cost structure, achieving higher economies of density has a higher impact on costs reduction. Pick-up points offer a solution to failed deliveries while they increase the density of deliveries at the same time. When the number of parcels to the pick-up point is high enough, benefits for both logistics carriers and the society are achieved. This is due to the reductions in the overall number of vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT). Results show that reductions-can be obtained with a limited number of pick-up points. In this paper, a novel typology of the B2C logistics sector is presented together with the most important cost drivers for the sector. In the analysis, an original cost model incorporates cost drivers disregarded in previous modelling efforts, such as the failed deliveries, the modal choice of companies and customers and the stoppage time of a delivery. Furthermore, primary data were obtained to develop the calculations and the results were validated by companies of the sector.
Language
English
Source (journal)
International journal of transport economics. - Pisa, 1974, currens
Publication
Pisa : Istituti editoriali e poligrafici internazionali , 2017
ISSN
0303-5247 [print]
1724-2185 [online]
DOI
10.19272/201706702004
Volume/pages
44 :2 (2017) , p. 235-256
ISI
000406820500004
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 26.07.2017
Last edited 04.03.2024
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