Making last mile logistics models aware of customer choices, demand sustainability and data economy

Abstract By 2030, the rise of delivery vehicles in the ten most populated cities worldwide is expected to increase GHG emissions between 21% and 32%. This trend puts pressure on public and private stakeholders to take measures to improve the sustainability of last mile logistics in cities. The EU-pr...

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Main Authors: Katharina Beck, Javi Esquillor, Mohammad Mahdi Zarei, Isabel Froes, Isabella Hauswald, Amalia Giannakopoulou, Heike Flämig
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-05-01
Series:European Transport Research Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12544-024-00683-9
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author Katharina Beck
Javi Esquillor
Mohammad Mahdi Zarei
Isabel Froes
Isabella Hauswald
Amalia Giannakopoulou
Heike Flämig
author_facet Katharina Beck
Javi Esquillor
Mohammad Mahdi Zarei
Isabel Froes
Isabella Hauswald
Amalia Giannakopoulou
Heike Flämig
author_sort Katharina Beck
collection DOAJ
description Abstract By 2030, the rise of delivery vehicles in the ten most populated cities worldwide is expected to increase GHG emissions between 21% and 32%. This trend puts pressure on public and private stakeholders to take measures to improve the sustainability of last mile logistics in cities. The EU-project DECARBOMILE (DECARBOnize last MILE logistics) aims to develop interoperable and multimodal logistics solutions for decarbonized last mile delivery in urban contexts in the years 2022–2026. This study presents a new framework of last mile’s cause-and-effect chain to identify potential sustainable logistics solutions, hence embracing customer centricity. The latter is beyond the scope of conventional logistics management and makes it difficult to manage the subsequent drivers of last mile logistics and supply chain disruption: demand patterns and data valorization. The sustainability framework first maps the last mile challenges against the PI-oriented transport system model. With its sustainable performance criterion, the framework provides a standardized approach to prioritize actions for addressing the challenges and measuring their target impacts accordingly. As a conclusion of this study, the approach: (1) provides a standardized method to identify use cases to decarbonize the last mile logistics in different contexts, (2) supports the development of a stakeholder-focused, effective decision support system that enables to define, analyze, and compare scenarios based on sustainability targets, and (3) fosters the design and deployment of sustainable last mile systems as well as their replicability.
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spelling doaj-art-3a2adf2a243b411b86e012f761f779332025-08-20T03:10:17ZengSpringerOpenEuropean Transport Research Review1866-88872025-05-0117111410.1186/s12544-024-00683-9Making last mile logistics models aware of customer choices, demand sustainability and data economyKatharina Beck0Javi Esquillor1Mohammad Mahdi Zarei2Isabel Froes3Isabella Hauswald4Amalia Giannakopoulou5Heike Flämig6Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Transport Planning and LogisticsCapillar ITCapillar ITCopenhagen Business School, Department of Management, Society and CommunicationCopenhagen Business School, Department of Management, Society and CommunicationCopenhagen Business School, Department of Management, Society and CommunicationHamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Transport Planning and LogisticsAbstract By 2030, the rise of delivery vehicles in the ten most populated cities worldwide is expected to increase GHG emissions between 21% and 32%. This trend puts pressure on public and private stakeholders to take measures to improve the sustainability of last mile logistics in cities. The EU-project DECARBOMILE (DECARBOnize last MILE logistics) aims to develop interoperable and multimodal logistics solutions for decarbonized last mile delivery in urban contexts in the years 2022–2026. This study presents a new framework of last mile’s cause-and-effect chain to identify potential sustainable logistics solutions, hence embracing customer centricity. The latter is beyond the scope of conventional logistics management and makes it difficult to manage the subsequent drivers of last mile logistics and supply chain disruption: demand patterns and data valorization. The sustainability framework first maps the last mile challenges against the PI-oriented transport system model. With its sustainable performance criterion, the framework provides a standardized approach to prioritize actions for addressing the challenges and measuring their target impacts accordingly. As a conclusion of this study, the approach: (1) provides a standardized method to identify use cases to decarbonize the last mile logistics in different contexts, (2) supports the development of a stakeholder-focused, effective decision support system that enables to define, analyze, and compare scenarios based on sustainability targets, and (3) fosters the design and deployment of sustainable last mile systems as well as their replicability.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12544-024-00683-9Last mile logisticsData economy awarenessDemand sustainabilityCustomer centric focusSystem performance criteriaPhysical internet
spellingShingle Katharina Beck
Javi Esquillor
Mohammad Mahdi Zarei
Isabel Froes
Isabella Hauswald
Amalia Giannakopoulou
Heike Flämig
Making last mile logistics models aware of customer choices, demand sustainability and data economy
European Transport Research Review
Last mile logistics
Data economy awareness
Demand sustainability
Customer centric focus
System performance criteria
Physical internet
title Making last mile logistics models aware of customer choices, demand sustainability and data economy
title_full Making last mile logistics models aware of customer choices, demand sustainability and data economy
title_fullStr Making last mile logistics models aware of customer choices, demand sustainability and data economy
title_full_unstemmed Making last mile logistics models aware of customer choices, demand sustainability and data economy
title_short Making last mile logistics models aware of customer choices, demand sustainability and data economy
title_sort making last mile logistics models aware of customer choices demand sustainability and data economy
topic Last mile logistics
Data economy awareness
Demand sustainability
Customer centric focus
System performance criteria
Physical internet
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12544-024-00683-9
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