Research: on-demand last-mile distribution network design with omnichannel inventory

E-commerce delivery deadlines are getting increasingly tight, driven by a growing ‘I-want-it-now’ instant gratification mindset of consumers and the desire of online and omnichannel retailers to capitalize on the growth of on-demand e-commerce. On-demand deliveries with delivery deadlines as tight as one or two hours force companies to rethink their last-mile distribution network since tight …

UPS pursues greater delivery density to reduce emissions

UPS wants to improve its delivery density, or the number of deliveries made on a single route, to reduce its carbon footprint, according to EVP and Chief Digital and Technology Officer Bala Subramanian at the 2023 UPS Impact Summit on October 17, 2023. UPS is trying to increase its deliveries-per-stop ratio from 1.28 to 1.4, …

Research: shared-fleet operations in healthcare logistics between public organizations

Shared-fleet logistics involves collaboration between two or more companies to combine workloads and vehicle capacity to improve vehicle utilisation and transport efficiency and reduce costs. A recent study considers the potential environmental and economic benefits of implementing a shared-fleet collaboration between two public organizations: a local government authority and a National Health Service (NHS) Trust. …

Review: turning a spotlight on governance for sustainable urban construction logistics

Construction logistics is a large share of the urban freight network and a bottleneck for an efficient construction process. Especially in the urban area, professionalization of its management may reduce negative environmental impacts for stakeholders like construction companies, policymakers, and residents. In a new review paper, a two-step methodological approach was pursued to shed light …

Review: decisive drivers contributing toward modern last mile delivery

A research article by Sharma et al. investigates the drivers of logistics management for Last-Mile Delivery (LMD) in a contemporary business situation. It refers to the 21st century’s innovative and revolutionary changes in the logistics sector. It explains advanced technology and the digital revolution as driving forces in the modern logistics industry. This study adopts …

UPS to acquire Happy Returns, a leader in reverse logistics

UPS announced that it has agreed to acquire Happy Returns from PayPal. Happy Returns is a U.S.-based software and reverse logistics company that enables frictionless, no-box, no-label returns for U.S. merchants and consumers. “We know that returns have long frustrated shoppers and retailers looking for quick and easy solutions,” UPS CEO Carol B. Tomé said. …

Smart vertical transport in construction

For the construction of high-rise buildings, there is a challenge of organizing large amounts of building materials and resources to and from the construction site and effectively planning for transporting the materials and resources vertically as the building gets taller. The patented Brunkeberg® System adds vertical rails to the exterior facade of a building, providing …