Visualising carrier consolidation and alternative delivery locations : a digital model of last-mile delivery in England and Wales

Background: Various innovations have been proposed to improve the efficiency and sustainability of last-mile delivery in urban and rural environments. Notable examples of innovative delivery solutions are parcel lockers, cargo bicycles, crowdsourced delivery, and so on. Methods: This study contributes to the ongoing research by developing a large-scale digital model of England and Wales to evaluate a new generation of solutions for last-mile delivery challenges being faced in both rural areas and cities. The two innovations chosen for comparison in this study are (i) carrier consolidation and (ii) alternative delivery locations (i.e., delivery to the workplace instead of the home). As well as the effect on any individual locations, the digital model evaluates both the benefits for England and Wales as a whole. Furthermore, the influence of the market share on the results, as well as the effect of changing the number of depots, is assessed. Results: By delivering to the customer's workplace instead of the home, the vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) reduce slightly (less than 10%). Carrier consolidation shows significant potential in reducing the overall VKT (up to 53%). When looking at individual areas in isolation, the consolidation option reduces the VKT or changes it up and down all within tolerance. Naturally, the first option causes a significant shift in delivery activity across England and Wales. Areas of central London would see in-excess of a 10-fold increase in the number of parcels delivered, whereas the demand for parcels in rural areas is further, and significantly reduced. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of large-scale and detailed digital models that not only calculate the overall benefits of an innovation but also their effect on each individual area.