The growth of e-commerce has driven higher demand for B2C transportation, creating challenges for urban distribution and upstream supply networks. Various sustainable transport strategies have been proposed to mitigate the impact of freight movement. However, these strategies must balance economic, environmental, and social considerations.
A recent study evaluates a sustainable distribution strategy based on collaborative network design, integrating last-mile strategic modeling through the continuous multi-scale approach (CMA) with network design models. A case study on parcel deliveries in Belgium demonstrates that the collaborative network design strategy effectively reduces both operational and external transport costs while addressing economic, social, and environmental factors.
The findings indicate that implementing two shared hubs can lower operational and external costs by up to 20% compared to the current system, where carriers operate independently. Additionally, carbon emissions decrease by 25% under the same scenario.
In summary, this study aimed to: (i) evaluate a collaborative parcel distribution network design strategy and (ii) demonstrate the integration of last-mile modeling using the CMA with strategic network design models. Regarding the first objective, collaboration among parcel carriers in shared hubs reduces vehicle kilometers traveled, leading to lower transport operational costs. This reduction in mileage also contributes to decreased carbon emissions and mitigates the external costs of transportation. For the second objective, the CMA enhances last-mile modeling by providing a strategic framework that informs long-term models without requiring detailed routing. The districts formed through the CMA reflect demand distribution based on size and concentration, enabling the analysis of delivery points as a random variable. The network design model incorporates these CMA-derived districts as sink locations, accounting for their burden by estimating route length and parcel volume.