Upload
others
View
3
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Stream 16: Technology, Innovation and Supply Chain Management
Refereed Delivered Session
Last Mile Delivery: a Systematic Literature Review of Definitions and
Development of Distribution Network Models
Joerin Motavallian
School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Shams Rahman
School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Caroline Chan
School of Business IT and Logistics, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Stream 16: Technology, Innovation and Supply Chain Management
Refereed Delivered Session
Last Mile Delivery: a Systematic Literature Review of Definitions and
Development of Distribution Network Models
ABSTRACT
The last stage of a supply chain that is involved in delivering goods to end-customers is described by
various phrases. The use of different phrases for the same phenomenon makes it ambiguous and
deserves a clarification in terms of its meaning and scope. Conducting an extensive literature review,
this study explores how different phrases and definitions underpin the phenomenon. We found that
‘Last Mile Delivery’ is the domain phrase used to describe the last stage of a supply chain delivery.
Based on the content analysis of the twenty-one definitions, we propose a new definition for the last
mile delivery. The proposed definition is then used to suggest forty theoretical models of last mile
delivery.
KEYWORDS
Last mile delivery, Content analysis, last mile delivery models, last mile delivery definition
INTRODUCTION
Rapid urbanisation and rising popularity of online shopping have created a surge in goods movement
especially in urban area, where there is a competition for a limited space in the public realm. Last
Mile Delivery, known as the final stage of supply chains in delivering goods to customers has become
a critical issue in the context of the urban goods movement system. Studies suggest that last mile
delivery is one of the most expensive, inefficient and polluting stage of any supply chain (Brown &
Guiffrida, 2014; Ehmke & Mattfeld, 2012; Gevaers, Van de Voorde, & Vanelslander, 2011).
Although many studies have been conducted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of last mile
delivery, the scope and definition of it still remain unclear. Various phrases such as last mile
logistics, last mile supply chain and last kilometre freight used to describe last mile delivery
phenomenon. The use of different phrases for the same phenomenon makes it ambiguous and
deserves a clarification in terms of its meaning and scope. Moreover companies who provide online
purchasing services (along with off-line services) need to provide an efficient way for delivering
goods to customers. Providing a suitable structure for delivering goods requires a clear understanding
of the meaning and scope of the last mile delivery.
In spite of few attempts in providing typologies of last mile delivery, lack of agreed scope and
definition has caused an ambiguity in its structure. Thus, based on the content analysis of the extant
definitions, we propose a new definition for last mile delivery. The proposed definition is then used to
suggest forty theoretical models of last mile delivery which has both theoretical and practical
implications in the design of efficient and effective distribution networks.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. First we present a literature review of last mile
delivery. Then we outline the research methodology and present the trend in the last mile delivery
research. Following this, we analyse and discuss various definitions of last mile delivery and propose
a new definition. Based on the proposed definition, we then present different models for the last mile
delivery. Finally, we conclude the paper.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Many studies, initiatives, and practices have been conducted to improve the last mile delivery process.
In spite of these attempts, the extant knowledge on last mile delivery is limited (Jin & Srai, 2015). A
review of literature of last mile delivery and distribution contexts suggests that a limited research has
so far been conducted to develop the typologies and distribution models for the last mile delivery.
One of the rare studies is by, Chopra (2003) who considers last mile delivery as a kind of distribution
network. Last mile delivery in his classification refers to the distributor/retailer delivering the product
to the customer’s home instead of using a package carrier. Along with the last mile delivery option
Chopra (2003) also suggests five other distribution networks for the movement of goods from the
manufacturer to the end consumer. On the other hand, Minguela-Rata and De Leeuw (2013) and
Edwards, McKinnon and Cullinane (2010) consider last mile delivery as a part of distribution network
and define it as the last link of goods movement to consumer.
Different factors are considered by authors to define the structure of the last mile delivery and goods
movement. Chopra (2003) considers delivery mode and product flow as two main decision factors for
designing distribution networks while others focus on other factors such as order preparation place,
type of delivery, and place of delivery. Although some studies consider common decision factors,
they may have different categorisations. For example Boyer, Frohlich and Hult (2004) divide order
preparation place into two groups, retail stores and centralized distribution centres/ warehouses, while
Coyle, Langley, Novack and Gibson (2016) distinguish five places for order preparations including
retail store, retail distribution centre serving both stores and online consumers, retail distribution
centre dedicated for online consumers, manufacturer warehouse/ distribution centre, and third-party’s
warehouse/ distribution centre.
To classify different aspects of last mile delivery, few studies introduce last mile delivery typology.
Gevaers (2013) classifies last mile delivery options using four main factors: starting point, place of
delivery, type of delivery and specific issues of delivery. According to Geravers (2013), last mile
delivery process starts at warehouse or picking location and finishes at customer home or picked up or
cluster points. In the context of last mile delivery, attended and unattended are considered two types
of home delivery; and reception box, collection point, and post office are considered three main types
of cluster points. Based on the studies by Chopra (2003), Boyer et al. (2004) and Gevaers (2013), Jin
and Srai (2015) develop a typology for the last mile delivery using Supply Chain Operations
Reference (SCOR) model. Although they attempt to consider all classifications and eliminate
duplicate cases, their classification does not cover all possible physical goods movement in the last
mile delivery.
Literature suggests that there isn’t a unique view of the last mile delivery in terms of commercial
transaction. For instance, the definition of Gevaers (2013) limits last mile delivery to business to
consumer while some definitions include wider commercial transactions such as business to consumer
and consumer to consumer. Examples include Tipagornwong and Figliozzi (2014) who define last
mile delivery in the context of both business to business and business to consumer and Allen, Thorne
and Browne (2007) who consider business to business and consumer to consumer for last mile
delivery context. Moreover, various phrases have been used to address the last mile delivery
phenomenon. For example Tipagornwong and Figliozzi (2014); Suksri, Raicu and Yue (2012); and
Wu, Shao and Ng (2015) address last mile delivery as last mile supply chain, last kilometre freight
distribution and last mile logistics respectively. Last mile delivery is also defined in different ways
which will be analysed later in this study. In the absence of an agreed phrase and definition of last
mile delivery, lack of clear scope has caused ambiguity in the development of the last mile delivery
distribution network structure. In this study we clarify the definition and scope of last mile delivery
and introduce possible structures of last mile delivery based on our proposed definition.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND INITIAL DATA STATISTICS
The principal aim of a systematic literature review is to access and map the existing body of
knowledge and develop reliable knowledge (Tranfield, Denyer & Smart, 2003). We conduct a
systematic literature review to understand the meaning and scope of last mile delivery and suggest
distribution network models for the last mile delivery. Following the guidance introduced by Denyer
and Tranfield (2009), we conduct this study in four key steps (See Figure 1). These steps enable us to
collect, explore and analyse an extant literature in order to gather knowledge to develop new
definition and models for last mile delivery.
Insert Figure 1 about here
Step 1: Question formulation
This study explores different phrases and definitions of last mile delivery to clarify the scope and the
structure of the phenomenon. To establish the focus of this study, four main questions are formulated
as follows:
- Q1: What is the domain phrase addressing the last stage of supply chains (last mile delivery)?
- Q2: How is last mile delivery defined in the literature?
- Q3: What is the scope of last mile delivery?
- Q4: What is the structure of last mile delivery?
Step 2: Locating studies
This step aims to locate as much as possible of the studies relevant to our review questions. To have
more relevant research, we need to define appropriate search terms. Our initial review of some
relevant studies which includes books and articles in the field reveals that many phrases starting with
last mile or last kilometre (kilometre) are used to address the phenomenon. Therefore using ‘last mile’
and ‘last kilometre’ as search terms direct us to find articles which include various definitions and
phrases of last mile delivery.
Moreover this phenomenon has been addressed by various articles in related subjects such as city
logistics and home delivery. Investigating articles in the relevant subjects also provided us an insight
into how related subjects address the phenomenon. Therefore along with the ‘last mile’ and the ‘last
kilometre’ we define a second group of search terms which indicates related subjects including home
delivery, home shopping, city logistics, urban logistics and urban freight.
All related journal or conference papers in the last mile delivery phenomenon are collected by using
the first group of search terms in title, abstract and keywords in major databases including Elsevier
(www.sciencedirect.com), Emerald (www.emeraldinsight.com), Springer (www.springerlink.com),
Informs (https://www.informs.org) and library services including ProQuest (www.proquest.com) and
Scopus (www.scopus.com).
Step 3: Study selection and evaluation
In this step we assessed the relevance of each study found to realise if it actually does address the
review questions. We identified the relevant articles by reviewing the title and abstract of each paper.
Since the same phrase is used in telecommunication and humanitarian fields we do need this phase to
delete irrelevant articles. We downloaded and imported citations including title, abstract and
keywords and whole text of articles to EndNote software. One article may be presented by various
databases. To avoid duplication we used EndNote. Then all papers and citations were exported to
NVivo (version 10) for analysing and reporting purposes.
Step 4: Analysis, using the results and reporting
Initial report
Using ‘last mile’ and ‘last kilometre’ as search terms, we found 46 articles in the field of last
mile delivery. Our search shows that the first article using last mile or last kilometre phrases appeared
in 2001. This shows that the last mile delivery is relatively a new topic in literature. Using the same
process for the second group of search terms, we found 217 journal and conference papers. Fifteen
articles are found to be common in both search term groups. The first article from the second group
was published in 1996. Figure 2 shows the distribution of articles published in the last mile delivery
and some related contexts between 1996 and mid-2015. The distribution shows that the number of
studies has increased significantly in recent time.
Insert Figure 2 about here
Figure 3 shows the number of articles in both categories of search terms or phrases. The highest
number of papers (122) belongs to ‘city logistics’ following by ‘urban freight’ with 73 papers. The
‘last mile’ term is used in title, abstract and keywords of 44 articles while ‘last kilometre’ is found in
2 articles. We found a total of 248 articles.
Insert Figure 3 about here
Exploring domain phrases
In the literature there are various phrases with the combination of last mile/kilometre and
some terms such as logistics, delivery, and freight. Using NVivo (version10) we searched any phrase
that consists of ‘last mile’ or ‘last kilometre’ among whole text of all papers. We found 106 articles
(out of 248) used either ‘last mile’ or ‘last kilometre’ in the text of these studies. Developing word
tree indicates how the last mile and the last kilometre are combined with other words (See Figure 4).
Insert Figure 4 about here
Reviewing the word tree of last mile and last kilometre, we made a list of phrases addressing last mile
delivery phenomenon. Table 1 shows the numbers of articles used each phrase in the whole text. It
demonstrates that the phrase of ‘last mile delivery’ is used in 44 out of 248 articles making it the most
commonly used phrase in this context. ‘Last mile logistics’ is the second most commonly used phrase
which was found in twenty articles. Based on the statistics, we found ‘last mile delivery’ as the
dominated phrase in this phenomenon.
Insert Table 1 about here
Analysing the extant definitions and developing new definition
All definitions of last mile delivery and related phrases which are included in Table 1 were
manually collected from the articles. Then a content analysis was conducted to explore the structure of
the existing definitions. Based on the results of content analysis a definition was proposed for last
mile delivery. The results of this analysis are described in details in the section titled definition of last
mile delivery.
Developing last mile delivery models
In this step, last mile delivery modes are developed based on the finding from content analysis
and proposed definition. At the end, the proposed models are examined in a real case.
DEFINITION OF LAST MILE DELIVERY
Since there are various phrases and definitions for last mile delivery in literature, to understand its
meaning, it is critical to investigate all related phrases and definitions. All identified papers are
reviewed manually and screened based on whether or not they offer a definition in last mile delivery
or related phrases. This process delivered a total of 21 definitions of last mile delivery (See Table 2).
Insert Table 2 about here
Investigating all definitions indicates that these definitions basically address some or all following
categories: main process/theme, function, commodity, coming from (whom and where) and going to
(whom and where). Table 3 shows how the definitions address these categories. Almost all definitions
explain that it is the last part of the main process. Over 50% of definitions (12) considered supply
chain as the main process. Delivery, movement, logistics and distribution are four functions used in
these definitions. Delivery and movement, respectively with 13 and 3 replications are the most
common functions in existing definitions. There is no relation between the function used in a
definition and the phrase which is used. For example, it is expected that last mile logistics definitions
use logistics function but they have used delivery and movement functions while last mile online
shopping and last mile solution definitions have used both logistics and delivery functions. It is
noticeable that all last mile delivery definitions used delivery function. Different words have been
used for commodity within definitions but ‘goods’ is the most popular word. Definitions do not
emphasis on common places for conducting functions (both from and to). They consider various
places such as port, consolidation centre and warehouse as the last point where the last movement of
goods will be started in a supply chain. We call this point as ‘last dispatch point’. Also definitions
consider various places such as stores, home and cluster/collection point as the place where goods are
delivered to consignee. We call this point as ‘delivery point’.
Based on the existing definitions, we introduce a definition for last mile delivery to clarify all aspects
of this phenomenon. This definition includes business to business, business to consumer, consumer to
consumer contexts:
‘The last transportation of consignment in supply chains from the last dispatch point to the delivery
point where consignee receives the consignment’
We used ‘consignment’ and ‘consignee’ instead of ‘goods/freight/product’ and ‘customer/consumer’
respectively in this definition. Refer to the consignment definition ‘a batch of goods destined for or
delivered to someone’ (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com) and consignee definition ‘the person or
company to whom goods or documents are officially sent or delivered’
(http://dictionary.cambridge.org), consignment and consignee explain the situation in better way.
Insert Table 3 about here
The proposed definition does not include return or collection process. The process of collecting goods
from some places is called ‘First Mile’ (Souza, Goh, Lau, Ng, & Tan, 2014; Schliwa, Armitage, Aziz,
Evans, & Rhoades, 2015) and is not in the scope of the definition of last mile delivery. Moreover last
mile delivery process will be completed when the consignee receives the consignment, however does
not mean that the consignment have no more transportation in all cases. There is an extra
transportation for consignment to reach to its final destination when a delivery point is away from
consignee place. For example, a consumer may pick up his/her consignment from retail store and
brings it to home by his/her private car. We do not consider this transportation in the scope of last
mile delivery, but these transportations should not be ignored because consignees should travel to
delivery point and collect their consignment. Xu, Ferrand and Roberts (2008) call this activity ‘Last
Mile Collection’ and define it as collection from certain convenient locations that are close to
customer’s house or workplace. We call this transportation of consignment as ‘After Last Mile
Delivery’. So we define after last mile delivery as ‘the collection and transportation of consignment
from delivery point to consignee’s place’. In the same manner all transportation before last mile
delivery from where the order is prepared to the last dispatch point has been considered as ‘Before
Last Mile Delivery’ (See Figure 5).
Insert Figure 5 about here
DEVELOPMENT OF LAST MILE DELIVERY MODELS
According to Campbell and Savelsbergh (2006) customer orders are fulffiled in three steps: (1) Order
capture and promise, (2) Order sourcing and assemble (order preparation), and (3) Order delivery. In
the first step, customers can place an order in different ways such as online, by phone or in person
(Chopra 2013). The consignments do not have any physical movement in this step. In the second step,
the products of each order are picked from shelves and packed. The consignments are ready to
delivery to customer at the end of this step. In the third step the consignments start its journey and
may pass different places to be delivered to customer. The delivery of a consignment from its origin
to its destination is managed directly or often through one or more intermediate facilities where
storing, merging and consolidation activities are performed. This type of distribution systems is
commonly called multi-echelon, where each echelon refers to one level of the distribution network
(Cuda, Guastaroba, & Speranza, 2015). Last mile delivery is the last echelon of the distribution
network. The entire journey starts from ‘order preparation point’, where the order preparation action
is conducted. The consignment may pass different echelons to finish its journey at ‘delivery point’
where delivery action is conducted. Last mile delivery is the last stage (echelon) of this journey and
starts from ‘last dispatch point’, where the last dispatch action is conducted, and finishes at delivery
point. Dispatch actions happen in each echelon of whole journey but the last dispatch is considered
based on the last mile delivery definition. According to our presumption the first dispatch happens in
the order preparation point so order preparation point alternatively can be called ‘first dispatch point’.
To design the last mile delivery structure, decision makers need to decide where the order preparation,
last dispatch and delivery actions take place. In other words there are three key decision factors in
designing a last mile delivery structure:
• Order preparation point where the order preparation action is conducted. The goods of
each order are picked from shelves and packed in this place. In other words the goods are
allocated to specific orders and form consignments in this place.
• Last dispatch point where the last dispatch action is conducted and the consignments
dispatch directly to delivery point.
• Delivery point where delivery action is conducted. The delivery action can take place in two
different forms: pick-up mode and handover mode. Pick-up mode is conducted far from
consignee’s place while handover mode happens at consignee’s place.
There are various choices for these three decision factors (See Table 4). Order preparation, last
dispatching and delivery can take place in six different places along a distribution network:
1. Factory refers a place where goods are produced. Order preparation, last dispatch and picking up
can happen directly from this place.
2. Intermediate warehouse refers a facility where goods are stored and is located somewhere
between factory (manufacturing facility) and the customer. The intermediate warehouse may
belong to a manufacturer, distributor or retailer.
3. Distribution centre /Consolidation centre refers to a place where various consignments are
consolidated and accumulated before distribution. While storage is the main function of a normal
warehouse, distribution centres focus on product movement rather than storage (Langevin &
Riopel, 2005). According to our classification, there is no storing function in a distribution centre
and the prepared orders are just consolidated for specific areas or delivery points.
4. Store (Shop) refers to a place where goods are displayed to sell. Stores usually need a level of
stocking for displaying and selling purposes, which enables stores to conduct the order
preparation function.
5. Collection centre (pick up centre) refers to a facility where consignments wait for collecting by
consignees or their representatives. It is supposed that this place is away from consignee place.
Although factory, warehouse, store and distribution centre are potentially a collection centre,
these places are not considered as a collection centre in our classification. Post office, gas station
and parcel locker are some examples of collection centres.
6. Consignee place where the consignee is supposed to have/use consignments.
Order preparation can logically take place where the goods are available for picking and packing, so
holding inventory function is needed in these places. Therefore, order preparation can occur in
factory, warehouse and store.
A consignment is sent to consignee directly from order preparation points or indirectly from some
intermediate facilities before reaching to its destination (Cuda et al., 2015, Boyer et al., 2004). So last
dispatch point can happen from factory, warehouse, store, distribution centre and collection centre.
Delivery activity can happen at any places of a distribution network including factory, warehouse,
distribution centre, store, collection centre and consignee’s place. There are two forms of delivery in
last mile delivery: pick-up mode and handover mode. During the pick-up mode, consignees travel to
an allocated place where is far from their places and pick up the consignment, while in handover
mode carriers deliver the consignment at a consignee’s place. A consignee can be a business or
consumer, so a consignee’s place can be anywhere such as a house, office or shop.
Insert Table 4 about here
Based on the different choices in order preparation point, last dispatch point and delivery point, we
developed 40 potential distinct last mile delivery structures shown in Figure 6. These models show
how the last physical movement of goods can happen during a distribution network. Each model has
its own advantages and disadvantages. Selection of appropriate model depends on wide range of
factors such as cost, customer convenience, and lead time which is beyond the scope of this paper.
However some models may be more popular in a specific industry or circumstance.
Insert Figure 6 about here
An investigation of one of the largest department stores in Australia indicates that they adapt Model
14 for delivering goods to its stores (business to business) and delivers online orders to its customers
(business to consumer) which is based on Model 38. All goods going to stores for selling and
displaying proposes are prepared at manufacturer (supplier) facilities and transported to a reginal
distribution centre where the goods are distributed to all stores in the same region. In fact, factory,
distribution centre and store are order preparation point, last dispatch point and delivery point
respectively, which indicates Model 14. Online orders are prepared at some selected stores by store
staff and delivered to customers by carrier. The carrier transport all consignments to a central
distribution centre and from there the consignment are sent to local distribution centres where the last
dispatch activity happens. Therefore, store, distribution centre and consignee’s place are order
preparation, last dispatch and delivery points of this structure, which indicates Model 38.
Click and collect is a very popular marketing channel these days and is offered by many retailers.
Mainly the online orders are prepared at the stores where customers pick up their orders. Click and
collect corresponds with Model 32 but in some cases the products are not available at customer’s
convenience store. Therefore, the order needs to be prepared at other store and transported to the
selected store for pick-up. In this case, click and collect may refer to Models 39, 36, or 32.
According to our proposed definition the last mile delivery does not exist when the last dispatch point
and delivery points are same. In Models 1, 19 and 32 the last dispatch point and delivery points
happen in the same place, so there is no last mile delivery.
CONCLUSION
The paper presented a structured literature review of last mile delivery definitions and proposed a new
definition and forty theoretical models of last mile delivery. Reviewing all related articles indicates
that although various phrases have been used to address the last leg of physical goods movement in a
supply chain, ‘last mile delivery’ is the most commonly used phrase in this context. Conducting a
content analysis indicates that the extant definitions are mainly formulated in five main categories:
process/theme, function, commodity, origin place and destination place. Based on the content analysis
of the extant definitions, a new definition is proposed for the last mile delivery which covers business
to business, business to consumer and consumer to consumer commercial transactions. The proposed
definition is then used to suggest forty theoretical models of last mile delivery. Based on the
proposed model, order preparation point, last dispatch point, and delivery point are three key factors
of last mile delivery. There are various choices for each of these key points. A combination of
different choices in each point indicates a specific model of last mile delivery. We distinguished forty
distinct last mile delivery models which have both theoretical and practical implications in the design
of efficient and effective distribution networks. This study focuses on the origin and destination of
consignments in last mile delivery context. Investigating last mile delivery from other perspectives
such as reception modes, modes of vehicle, and types of consignment was not within scope of this
study which are some of the options for future studies.
REFERENCES
Aized, T. & Srai, J.S. (2013). Hierarchical modelling of Last Mile logistic distribution
system.(Report). The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 70,
no. 5-8, p. 1053.
Allen, J., Thorne, G. & Browne, M. (2007). BESTUFS Good practice guide on urban freight
transport. BESTUFS Consortium, Rijswijk.
Boyer, KK., Frohlich, M.T. & Hult, G.T. (2004). Extending the supply chain: how cutting-edge
companies bridge the critical last mile into customers' homes. 1st ed. edn, American
Management Association, New York.
Bretzke, WR. (2013). Global urbanization: a major challenge for logistics. Logistics Research, vol. 6,
no. 2-3, pp. 57-62.
Brown, JR. & Guiffrida, AL. (2014). Carbon emissions comparison of last mile delivery versus
customer pickup. International Journal of Logistics: Research & Applications, vol. 17, no. 6,
pp. 503-21.
Browne, M., Allen, J. & Attlassy, M. (2007). Comparing freight transport strategies and measures in
London and Paris. International Journal of Logistics: Research & Applications, vol. 10, no. 3,
pp. 205-19.
Cambridge Dictionary, (2017) http://dictionary.cambridge.org/, Retrieved January 30, 2017
Campbell, AM. & Savelsbergh, M. (2006). Incentive schemes for attended home delivery services.
Transportation Science, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 327-41.
Chopra, S. (2003). Designing the distribution network in a supply chain. Transportation Research Part
E, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 123-40.
Coyle, J.J., Langley, C.J., Novack, R.A. & Gibson, B. (2016). Supply chain management: a logistics
perspective. Nelson Education.
Cuda, R., Guastaroba, G. & Speranza, MG. (2015). A survey on two-echelon routing problems.
Computers & Operations Research, vol. 55, no. 0, pp. 185-99.
Denyer, D. & Tranfield, D. (2009), "Producing a systematic review", in Buchanan, D. and Bryman, A.
(Eds), The Sage Handbook of Organizational Research Methods, Sage Publications Ltd.,
London, pp. 671-689.
Edwards, JB., McKinnon, AC. & Cullinane, SL. (2010). Comparative analysis of the carbon
footprints of conventional and online retailing. International Journal of Physical Distribution
& Logistics Management, vol. 40, no. 1/2, pp. 103-23.
Ehmke, JF. & Mattfeld, DC. (2012). Vehicle Routing for Attended Home Delivery in City Logistics.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 39, no. 0, pp. 622-32.
Elsevier, (2015). www.sciencedirect.com, Retrieved June 25, 2015
Emerald, (2015). www.emeraldinsight.com, Retrieved June 25, 2015
Gevaers, R. (2013). Evaluation of innovations in B2C Last mile, B2C reverse & waste logistics.
Doctoral dissertation, University of Antwerp.
Gevaers, R., Van de Voorde, E. &Vanelslander, T. (2011). Characteristics and typology of last-mile
logistics from an innovation perspective in an urban context. City distribution and urban
freight transport: multiples perspectives, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp.56-71.
Informs, (2015). https://www.informs.org, Retrieved June 25, 2015
Jin, X. & Srai, JS. (2015). A typology on Last mile distribution systems. In: The Proceedings of 20th
International Symposium on Logistics, Edited by Pawar, KS., Rogers, H. & Ferrari, F.,
Bologna, Italy, 6-8 July 2015
Kull, TJ., Boyer, K. & Calantone, R. (2007). Last‐ mile supply chain efficiency: an analysis of
learning curves in online ordering. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 409-34.
Langevin, A. & Riopel, D. eds. (2005). Logistics systems: design and optimization. Springer Science
& Business Media.
Lewandowski, K. (2014). 5 Cases in the Last 100 Meters of Delivery of Goods. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences, vol. 151, no. 0, pp. 183-95.
Minguela-Rata, B. & De Leeuw, S. (2013). Managing the last mile of the supply chain for spare
parts/Gestión de la última milla de la cadena de suministro para piezas de repuesto. Universia
Business Review, no. 39, pp. 104-17.
Morganti, E., Dablanc, L. & Fortin, F. (2014). Final deliveries for online shopping: The deployment
of pickup point networks in urban and suburban areas. Research in Transportation Business &
Management, vol. 11, no. 0, pp. 23-31.
Morganti, ME. (2011). Urban food planning, city logistics and sustainability: the role of the wholesale
produce market. The cases of Parma and Bologna food hubs. Doctoral dissertation, Alma.
Muñoz-Villamizar, A., Montoya-Torres, JR. & Vega-Mejía, CA. (2015). Non-Collaborative versus
Collaborative Last-Mile Delivery in Urban Systems with Stochastic Demands. Procedia
CIRP, vol. 30, no. 0, pp. 263-8.
NVivo 10, (2012). QSR International Pty Ltd, http://www.qsrinternational.com/products_nvivo.aspx.
Accessed January 30, 2017
Schliwa, G., Armitage, R., Aziz, S., Evans, J. & Rhoades, J. (2015). Sustainable city logistics —
Making cargo cycles viable for urban freight transport. Research in Transportation Business
& Management, vol. 15, no. 0, pp. 50-7.
Oxford Dictionary, (2017) https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/ , Retrieved January 30, 2017
ProQuest, (2015). www.proquest.com, Retrieved June 25, 2015
Scopus, (2015). www.scopus.com, Retrieved June 25, 2015
Scott, M., Anderka, S. & O’Donnell, E. (2009). Improving Freight Movement in Delaware Central
Business Districts. Institute for Public Administration, University of Delaware,
www.ipa.udel.edu. Viewed 20/12/2015.
Souza, R., Goh, M., Lau, H-C., Ng, W-S. & Tan, P-S. (2014). Collaborative Urban Logistics –
Synchronizing the Last Mile a Singapore Research Perspective. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences, vol. 125, no. 0, pp. 422-31.
Springer, (2015). www.springerlink.com, Retrieved June 25, 2015
Suksri, J., Raicu, R. & Yue, WL. (2012). Towards Sustainable Urban Freight Distribution-a Proposed
Evaluation Framework. In: The Proceedings of Australian Transport Research Forum, Perth,
Australia, 26 - 28 September 2012.
Tipagornwong, C. & Figliozzi, M., (2014). Analysis of competitiveness of freight tricycle delivery
services in urban areas. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation
Research Board, (2410), pp.76-84.
Tranfield, D., Denyer, D. & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence‐
informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British journal of
management, 14(3), pp.207-222.
Woodard, JB. (2013). Last‐ Mile Deliveries in High‐ Density Urban Residential Areas of Manhattan.
Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University.
Wu, H., Shao, D. & Ng, W. (2015). Locating Self-Collection Points for Last-Mile Logistics Using
Public Transport Data. In T Cao, E-P. Lim, Z-H. Zhou, T-B. Ho, D Cheung. & H Motoda
(eds), Advances in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, Springer International
Publishing, vol. 9077, pp. 498-510.
Xu, M., Ferrand, B. & Roberts, M. (2008). The last mile of e-commerce - Unattended delivery from
the consumers and eTailers' perspectives. International Journal of Electronic Marketing and
Retailing, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 20-38.
Figure 1: Research methodology flowchart
Providing initial statistics
Identifying phrases directly refer to the last link of
supply chain (LMD)
- Discussing with senior academics in the field
- Quick search among major resource in the field
Searching search terms in Title, Abstract and
Keywords at major databases and libraries including Elsevier, Emerald, Springer, Informs, ProQuest and Scopus.
All phrases start with
- Last mile
- Last kilometre
Searching search terms in Title, Abstract
and Keywords at major databases and
libraries including Elsevier, Emerald,
Springer, Informs, ProQuest and Scopus.
- Home delivery
- Home shopping
- City logistics
- Urban logistics
- Urban freight
Exporting data to NVivo
Searching definition of phrases start with
last mile or last kilometre
Conducting content analysis of definitions
Developing new definitions
Developing LMD models
Examining the proposed model in real case
Downloading whole paper and citation
including title, abstract and keywords
Importing citation and whole paper to
EndNote
Finding and deleting duplications
Reviewing the title and abstract of each
paper and deleting irrelevant studies
(ignoring articles in humanitarian and
Telecommunication fields)
Exporting data to NVivo
Downloading whole paper and citation
including title, abstract and keywords
Importing citation and whole paper to
EndNote
Finding and deleting duplications
Step 2: Locating studiesStep 2: Locating studies
Step 3: Study selection and
evaluation
Step 3: Study selection and
evaluation
Initial
report
Initial
report
Analysing of extant
definitions and
developing new
definition
Analysing of extant
definitions and
developing new
definition
Developing last
mile delivery
models
Developing last
mile delivery
models
The first
group of
search terms
The first
group of
search terms
The second
group of search
terms
The second
group of search
terms
Step 1: Question
formulation
Step 1: Question
formulationDefining research questions
Searching each phrase that starts with last
mile or last kilometre in whole pages of all
papers and counting number of papers for
each phrase
Exploring domain phraseExploring domain phrase
Step 4:
Analysis, using
the results and
reporting
Step 4:
Analysis, using
the results and
reporting
Reviewing the title and abstract of each
paper and deleting irrelevant studies
Figure 2: Publication trend in last mile delivery context
Figure 3: Distribution of studies using each term in title, abstract and keywords
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Group two
Group one
122
43
73
63
5
44
2
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
City
logistics
Urban
logistics
Urban
freight
Home
delivery
Home
shopping
Last mile Last
kilometer
Number of papers
The first group of search termsThe second group of search terms
Figure 4: A part of word tree of ‘last mile’ in whole text of all articles
Figure 5: Different stages of last mile delivery
Before Last Mile Delivery Last Mile Delivery After Last Mile Delivery
Order Preparation
PointLast Dispatch Point
Delivery
Point
Consignee's Place
Figure 6: Last Mile Delivery Models
Model 1 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Model 2 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDIntermediate Warehouse
LMD
Model 3 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDStoreLMD
Model 4 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDDistribution
CentreLMD
Model 5 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDCollection
CentreLMD
Model 6 Factory Consignee PlaceLMD
Model 7 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDStoreLMDIntermediate Warehouse
Model 8 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDDistribution
CentreLMD
Intermediate Warehouse
Model 9 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDCollection
CentreLMD
Intermediate Warehouse
Model 10 Factory Consignee PlaceLMD
Intermediate Warehouse
Model 11 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Distribution Centre
LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Store
Model 12 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Collection Centre
LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Store
Model 13 Factory Consignee PlaceLMD
Intermediate Warehouse
Store
Model 14 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDStoreLMD
Intermediate Warehouse
Consolidation Centre
Model 15 Factory
Collection Centre
LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Distribution Centre
Store Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Model 16 Factory Consignee PlaceLMD
Intermediate Warehouse
Distribution Centre
Store
Model 17 Factory StoreLMD
Intermediate Warehouse
Collection Centre
Distribution Centre
Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Model 18 Factory
CollectionCentre
Intermediate Warehouse
Distribution Centre
Store Consignee PlaceLMD
Model 19 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Model 20 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDIntermediate Warehouse
StoreLMD
Model 21 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Distribution Centre
LMD
Model 22 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Collection Centre
LMD
Model 23 Factory Consignee PlaceIntermediate Warehouse
LMD
Model 24 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDDistribution
CentreLMD
Intermediate Warehouse
Store
Model 25 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDCollection
CentreLMDWarehouse Shop
Model 26 Factory Consignee PlaceLMDIntermediate Warehouse
Store
Model 27 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMDStoreLMDIntermediate Warehouse
Distribution Centre
Model 28 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Distribution Centre
Intermediate Warehouse
CollectionCentre
LMDStore
Model 29 Factory Consignee Place
Distribution Centre
Intermediate Warehouse
LMDStore
Model 30 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Collection Centre
Intermediate Warehouse
StoreLMDDistribution
Centre
Model 31 Factory
CollectionCentre
Intermediate Warehouse
Distribution Centre
Store Consignee PlaceLMD
Model 32 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Intermediate Warehouse
Store
Model 33 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Intermediate Warehouse
StoreDistribution
CentreLMD
Model 34 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Intermediate Warehouse
StoreCollection
CentreLMD
Model 35 Factory Consignee Place
Intermediate Warehouse
Store LMD
Model 36 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Distribution Centre
LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Store Shop
Model 37 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Distribution Centre
LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Store Collection
Centre
Model 38 Factory Consignee Place
Distribution Centre
LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Store
Model 39 Factory Consignee PlaceAfter LMD
Collection Centre
LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Store Store
Model 40 Factory Consignee Place
Distribution Centre
LMDIntermediate Warehouse
Store Collection Centre
Consignment Transportation in Supply ChainConsignment Transportation in Supply Chain
Last Mile Delivery (LMD)Last Mile Delivery (LMD)
After Last Mile DeliveryAfter Last Mile Delivery
Order Preparation PointOrder Preparation Point
Last Dispatch PointLast Dispatch Point
Delivery PointDelivery Point
Table 1: Frequency of papers using a specific phrase in whole text
Phrase Search term
All
terms City
logistics
Urban
logistics
Urban
freight
Home
delivery
Home
shopping
Last
mile
Last
Kilometre
Last Mile Delivery 8 6 8 13 2 24 0 44
Last Mile Logistics 7 4 6 4 0 12 0 20
Last Mile Problem 0 0 1 11 0 9 0 15
Last Mile Distribution 4 3 4 2 0 6 0 13
Last Mile Supply chain 0 0 0 4 1 9 0 9
Last kilometre 3 2 4 0 0 2 2 8
Last Mile Solution 7 0 4 0 0 1 0 7
Last Mile Transport 2 0 1 1 0 5 0 7
Last Mile Operation 0 0 1 5 0 2 0 6
Last Mile Freight 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2
Last Mile Collection 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 2
Last Mile/ kilometre 31 15 28 37 4 44 2 106
Table 2: Definitions of Last Mile and related phrases
Def
No.
Author/s Phrase used Definition
1 Morganti, Dablanc
& Fortin
(2014, p. 23)
Last mile ‘The final segment of the supply chain’
2 Gevaers
(2013, p. 8)
Last mile ‘The last mile is the last stretch of a business-to-consumer
(B2C) parcel delivery to the final consignee who has to take
reception of the goods at home or at a cluster/collection
point’
3 Aized & Srai
(2013, p. 1)
Last mile ‘Last mile is the last part of the supply chain for the direct-
to-consumer market’
4 Minguela-Rata & De
Leeuw
(2013, p. 104)
Last mile ‘The last link in the supply chain to the consumer’
5 Woodard
(2013, p. 8 & 18)
Last mile ‘Last mile is the final portion of goods movement in which
the package is delivered to the intended recipient’
6 Edwards et al.,
(2010, pp. 103-4)
Last mile ‘Last mile as the last link in the supply chain to the home’
7 Souza et al.,
(2014, p. 426)
Last mile
delivery
‘Last mile delivery is the last leg in a supply chain whereby
the consignment is delivered to the (final) recipient’
8 Lewandowski
(2014, p. p. 184)
Last mile
delivery
‘The delivery process is a part of supply chain at the last
link, from last warehouse to recipient’
9 Edwards et al.,
(2010, pp. 103-4)
Last mile
delivery
‘Last mile delivery as deliveries of goods from local depots
to the home’
10 Chopra
(2003, p. 133)
Last mile
delivery
‘Last mile delivery refers to the distributor/retailer
delivering the product to the customers home instead of
using a package carrier’
11 Wu et al.,
(2015, p. 498)
Last mile
logistics
‘The final stage to deliver freight to urban customers from
the port or consolidation centers in a city’
12 Schliwa et al.
(2015, p. 52)
Last mile
logistics
‘Last mile logistics involves items being delivered from a
depot or hub a short distance to their final destination’
13 Aized & Srai
(2013, p. 1)
Last mile
logistics
distribution
system
‘Last mile logistic distribution system is the final
step in business-to-customer supply chain’
14 Scott, Anderka &
O’Donnell
(2009, p. 3)
Last mile
Logistics,
‘Last mile Logistics is the critical, final phase of supply-
chain management where goods move from a supplier to a
customer’
15 Tipagornwong &
Figliozzi
(2014, p. 77)
last mile of
supply
chains
‘The movement of goods from a distribution center or
warehouse to final stores and customers’
16 Kull, Boyer &
Calantone
(2007, p. 409)
Last mile
supply chain
‘Last mile supply chain is a portion of the supply chain
delivering products directly to the consumer’
17 Muñoz-Villamizar,
Montoya-Torres &
Vega-Mejía (2015, p.
263)
Last mile urban
freight
transport
‘The last link of complex supply chains involving numerous
stakeholders’
18 Suksri et al.,
(2012, p. 2)
Last kilometer
freight
distribution
‘Last kilometer freight distribution is the last link of the
supply chain that delivers goods to retailers in urban areas’
19 Morganti
(2011, p. 42)
Last food mile ‘Last food mile refers to the physical distribution of food
occurring in the last part of food supply chain. It refers to
the final delivery of perishable goods to urban food outlets’
20 Xu et al.
(2008, pp. 20-5)
Last mile of
online
shopping
‘The last mile of online shopping is the home delivery
logistics in e-commerce’
21 Allen et al.
(2007, p. 41)
Last mile
solutions
‘Last mile solutions are the logistics element of the
fulfillment process within consumer e-commerce
transactions (both business-to-consumer and consumer-to-
consumer - B2C and C2C), other remote purchases from
mail order, direct selling and television shopping
companies, and deliveries from retail outlets’
Table 3: Structure of definitions for Last Mile and related phrases
Def
No. Phrase Sequence
Main
process/theme Function Commodity From (Where) From (Whom) To (Where) To (Whom)
1 Last mile the final
segment supply chain
2 Last mile the last stretch parcel delivery delivery parcel/ goods business
home/
cluster/collectio
n point
consumer/final consignee
who has to take reception
of the goods
3 Last mile the last part supply chain direct-to-consumer
market
4 Last mile the last link the supply chain consumer
5 Last mile the final portion goods movement delivery/
movement package intended recipient
6 Last mile the last link supply chain home
7 Last mile delivery the last leg supply chain delivery consignment (final) recipient
8 Last mile delivery the last link a part of supply
chain delivery last warehouse recipient
9 Last mile delivery delivery goods local depots home
10 Last mile delivery delivery product customers home
11 Last mile logistics the final stage delivery freight
port/
consolidation
centers in a city
urban customers
12 Last mile logistics delivery items depot/ hub a short
distance final destination
13 Last mile logistic
distribution system the final step supply chain business customer
14 Last mile logistics the critical,
final phase
supply-chain
management movement goods supplier customer
15 last mile of supply
Chains movement goods
distribution
center/ warehouse final stores customers
16 Last mile supply
Chain a portion supply chain delivery products consumer
17 Last mile urban
freight transport the last link
complex supply
chains
18 Last kilometer freight
distribution the last link supply chain delivery goods retailers in urban areas
19 Last food mile
the last part/
the final
delivery
food supply chain delivery/
distribution
food/ perishable
goods
urban food
outlets
20 Last mile of online
shopping
the home
delivery
logistics
e-commerce delivery/
logistics home
21 Last mile solutions the logistics
element
the fulfillment
process within
consumer
ecommerce
transactions/
remote purchases
delivery/
logistics retail outlets
business/
consumer consumer
Table 4: Different choices of last mile delivery
Order Preparation
Point
Last Dispatch
Point
Delivery Point
Pick-up mode Handover mode
Factory √ √ √
Intermediate warehouse √ √ √
Store √ √ √ √
Distribution Centre √ √
Collection Centre √ √
Consignee place √