Crowdsourcing the last mile delivery of online orders by exploiting the social networks of retail store customers
01 Sep 2017-Transportation Research Part E-logistics and Transportation Review (Pergamon)-Vol. 105, pp 105-122
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate the potential benefits of crowdsourcing last mile delivery by exploiting a social network of the customers and show that using friends in social networks to assist in last-mile delivery greatly reduces delivery costs and total emissions while ensuring speedy and reliable delivery.
Abstract: This paper demonstrates the potential benefits of crowdsourcing last mile delivery by exploiting a social network of the customers. The presented models and analysis are informed by the results of a survey to gauge people’s attitudes toward engaging in social network-reliant package delivery to and by friends or acquaintances. It is found that using friends in a social network to assist in last mile delivery greatly reduces delivery costs and total emissions while ensuring speedy and reliable delivery. The proposed new delivery method also mitigates the privacy concerns and not-at-home syndrome that widely exist in last mile delivery.
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TL;DR: This work presents a meta-analyses of the determinants of infectious disease in eight operation rooms of the immune system and three of them are connected to each other through the immune response to infectious disease.
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TL;DR: This paper surveys established and novel last-mile concepts and puts special emphasis on the decision problems to be solved when setting up and operating each concept, and systematically record the alternative delivery concepts in a compact notation scheme.
Abstract: In the wake of e-commerce and its successful diffusion in most commercial activities, last-mile distribution causes more and more trouble in urban areas all around the globe. Growing parcel volumes to be delivered toward customer homes increase the number of delivery vans entering the city centers and thus add to congestion, pollution, and negative health impact. Therefore, it is anything but surprising that in recent years many novel delivery concepts on the last mile have been innovated. Among the most prominent are unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and autonomous delivery robots taking over parcel delivery. This paper surveys established and novel last-mile concepts and puts special emphasis on the decision problems to be solved when setting up and operating each concept. To do so, we systematically record the alternative delivery concepts in a compact notation scheme, discuss the most important decision problems, and survey existing research on operations research methods solving these problems. Furthermore, we elaborate promising future research avenues.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of 75 papers published between 2001 and 2019 in international peer-reviewed journals or proceedings of conferences, retrieved from bibliographic databases and science search engine.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to review and classify scientific publications dealing with those innovative solutions aimed at increasing the efficiency of last-mile delivery in business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce; and, second, to outline directions for future research in this field.,The review is based on 75 papers published between 2001 and 2019 in international peer-reviewed journals or proceedings of conferences, retrieved from bibliographic databases and science search engines.,Due to its importance in affecting the overall logistics costs and, as a consequence, the economic sustainability of a B2C e-commerce initiative, last-mile delivery process deserves particular attention in order to be optimised. The review highlights that, among the main factors affecting its cost, there are the probability to have failed deliveries, the customer density in the delivery areas and the degree of automation of the process. Innovative and viable last-mile delivery solutions – which may impact the mentioned drivers – include parcel lockers, crowdsourcing logistics, mapping the consumer presence at home and dynamic pricing policies. Eventually, some gaps and areas for further research activities have been identified (e.g. mapping customer behaviour, crowdsourcing logistics).,This review offers interesting insights to both academics and practitioners. On the academic side, it analyses and classifies relevant literature about innovative and efficiency-oriented last-mile delivery solutions, proposing directions for future research efforts. On the managerial side, it presents a holistic framework of the main factors affecting last-mile delivery cost and of viable innovative solutions that may be implemented to increase efficiency.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide several avenues for promising areas of applications, operations and management, as well as improving behavioral and societal impacts to create and enable a crowd-shipping system that is complex yet, integrated, dynamic and sustainable.
Abstract: Crowd-shipping promises social, economic, and environmental benefits covering a range of stakeholders. Yet, at the same time, many crowd-shipping initiatives face multiple barriers, such as network effects, and concerns over trust, safety, and security. This paper reviews current practice, academic research, and empirical case studies from three pillars of supply, demand, and operations and management. Drawing on the observed gaps in practice and scientific research, we provide several avenues for promising areas of applications, operations and management, as well as improving behavioral and societal impacts to create and enable a crowd-shipping system that is complex, yet, integrated, dynamic and sustainable.
109 citations
TL;DR: The purpose of this paper is to identify key elements of such systems that distinguish them from other transportation systems, to ultimately shed light on some promising research directions.
Abstract: Crowdsourced delivery systems have created many new industry last-mile delivery solutions and have received some attention in the academic literature. In this review paper, we analyze the current industry status of this emergent concept and provide a classification of available platforms based on their matching mechanisms, target markets and compensation schemes. We review the operations research (OR) literature explicitly addressing this topic and assess the realism of the assumptions, and applicability to real-world applications. We also compare the management decisions within crowdsourced delivery systems to well-studied OR problems in the literature, and pinpoint new challenges that arise in the context of crowdsourced delivery. The purpose of this paper is to identify key elements of such systems that distinguish them from other transportation systems, to ultimately shed light on some promising research directions.
89 citations
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TL;DR: An integrated activity-based discrete choice model system of an individual's activity and travel schedule, for forecasting urban passenger travel demand, using a 1991 Boston travel survey and transportation system level of service data.
Abstract: We present an integrated activity-based discrete choice model system of an individual’s activity and travel schedule, for forecasting urban passenger travel demand. A prototype demonstrates the system concept using a 1991 Boston travel survey and transportation system level of service data. The model system represents a person’s choice of activities and associated travel as an activity pattern overarching a set of tours. A tour is defined as the travel from home to one or more activity locations and back home again. The activity pattern consists of important decisions that provide overall structure for the day’s activities and travel. In the prototype the activity pattern includes (a) the primary – most important – activity of the day, with one alternative being to remain at home for all the day’s activities; (b) the type of tour for the primary activity, including the number, purpose and sequence of activity stops; and (c) the number and purpose of secondary – additional – tours. Tour models include the choice of time of day, destination and mode of travel, and are conditioned by the choice of activity pattern. The choice of activity pattern is influenced by the expected maximum utility derived from the available tour alternatives.
581 citations
TL;DR: The examination shows that since 2005, the year the term social commerce was incepted, assumptions and understanding of people in social commerce move from a simple and general description of human social nature to a rich exploration with different angles from social psychology, social heuristics, national culture, and economic situations.
Abstract: Social commerce is a form of commerce mediated by social media and is converging both online and offline environments As a relatively new phenomenon, social commerce has evolved quickly in practice, yet has gained little attention in the IS discipline With its pervasiveness in businesses and people’s lives, social commerce presents ample research opportunities that can have both theoretical and practical significance and implications This article aims to capture researchers’ attention by describing the characteristics of social commerce and its potential future directions We trace the evolutionary patterns of social commerce chronologically, based on trade articles and academic publications from 2005 to 2011 A framework that combines people, management, technology, and information dimensions is used to provide a systematic analysis of social commerce development Our examination shows that since 2005, the year the term social commerce was incepted, assumptions and understanding of people in social commerce move from a simple and general description of human social nature to a rich exploration with different angles from social psychology, social heuristics, national culture, and economic situations On the management dimension, business strategies and models evolve from the short-tail to long-tail thinking, with invented concepts such as branded social networks/communities, niche social networks/communities, niche brands, co-creating, team-buying, and multichannel social networks Technologically, IT platforms and capabilities for social commerce evolve from blogs, to social networking sites, to mediasharing sites, and to smartphones While Facebook becomes a profit-generating platform, creating the notion of f-commerce, Google and Twitter become strong competitors with great potentials Information in social commerce evolves from peer-generated, to community-generated (crowdsourcing), to consumer and marketer co-created, and to global crowdsourced Our examination identifies various conceptualizations, terminologies, views, and perspectives about social commerce and its relation to other wellknown concepts such as e-commerce In light of the evolution of social commerce, we provide possible future directions for research and practice
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TL;DR: A class of actor-oriented statistical models for closed social networks in general, and friendship networks in particular, are proposed, developed within a rational choice framework based on social psychological and sociological theories about friendship.
Abstract: We propose a class of actor-oriented statistical models for closed social networks in general, and friendship networks in particular. The models are random utility models developed within a rational choice framework. Based on social psychological and sociological theories about friendship, mathematical functions capturing expected utility of individual actors with respect to friendship are constructed. Expected utility also contains a random (unexplained) component. We assume that, given their restrictions and contact opportunities, individuals evaluate their utility functions and behave such that they maximize the expected amount of utility. The behavior under consideration is the expression of like and dislike (choice of friends). Theoretical mechanisms that are modelled are, e.g., the principle of diminishing returns, the tendency towards reciprocated choices, and the preference for friendship relations with similar others. Constraints imposed on individuals are, e.g., the structure of the existing network, and the distribution of personal characteristics over the respondents. The models are illustrated by means of a data-set collected among university freshmen at 7 points in time during 1994 and 1995.
228 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, two main approaches to unattended delivery are the reception box concept and the delivery box concept, and the authors assesses these two different concepts using simulation and compare the operational cost savings are compared to the respective investments required to calculate the payback period.
Abstract: One of the biggest challenges in B2C e‐commerce is the so‐called “last mile”, the home delivery service for the customer. Particularly in electronic grocery shopping it is difficult to combine profitability and high service level. The authors’ simulations suggest that the unattended reception of goods reduce home delivery costs considerably, by up to 60 percent. Unattended delivery has not been widely used because it requires investments and commitment from the customer. The two main approaches to unattended delivery are the reception box concept and the delivery box concept. The reception box is a refrigerated, customer‐specific reception box installed at the customer’s garage or home yard. The delivery box is an insulated secured box equipped with a docking mechanism. The reception box concept results in more effective home delivery transportation and the delivery box concept in smaller investment to achieve unattended receipt. This article assesses these two different concepts. The cost savings in transportation are analysed using simulation. The operational cost savings are compared to the respective investments required to calculate the payback period. Both concepts proved to be feasible but which one works better is not only a question of financial justification. The possible additional value to customers and overall suitability to the market must also be considered.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors study four sites from the sharing economy to analyze how class and other forms of inequality operate within this type of economic arrangement and find considerable evidence of distinguishing practices and the deployment of cultural capital, as understood by Bourdieusian theory.
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