Design and management of smart last-mile delivery systems

电子商务正在蓬勃发展，配送正在成为产品供应的关键组成部分。销售的繁荣导致每天的货物运输量达到前所未有的水平。最后一英里交货是交货过程中的最后一个阶段，产品从运输到交付给客户，它可能占货物运输总成本的41%。今天，技术的进步是迅速的，思想的商业化通常是迅速的，它们的影响比以往任何时候都更加明显。这种显著改变运营和商业模式的技术被称为“颠覆性技术”。为了满足日益增长的需求，最后一英里快递领域出现了一些新的技术和商业模式，比如众包运输、电动汽车、无人机、自动快递机器人和包裹寄存柜。每一种技术都有自己的特点，需要仔细对待，以便理解和衡量社会效益。为此，本研究计划的长期目标是通过数学建模和数据科学来调查最后一英里交付系统中颠覆性技术对企业、家庭和政府的影响。该项目的愿景是指导决策者积极主动地采取技术进步行动，以加强积极影响并减轻其不利影响。为了实现这一总体目标，我们将研究各种商业模式，以改善当前的运营实践，并减轻其对社会和环境的不利影响。特别是，研究计划的短期目标包括调查(1)作为最后一英里交付的一种新形式的众包，(2)在15分钟城市背景下的超快最后一英里交付，(3)城市地区公共交通的货运模式，(4)在最后一英里交付中使用自动驾驶汽车，以及(5)城市中心的替代燃料技术。

E-commerce is thriving and delivery is becoming the key component of the product offering. The boom in sales has led to an unprecedented volume of goods being shipped every day. Last-mile delivery constitutes the final stage in the delivery process when a product is transported and delivered to a customer and it can comprise up to 41% of the total cost to move goods. Today, the advancements in technologies are rapid, commercialization of ideas is generally fast, and their impacts are more pronounced than ever. Such technologies that significantly alter the operations and business models are called 'disruptive technologies'. Several novel technologies and business models have emerged in last-mile delivery to address the increasing demand such as crowdshipping, electric vehicles, use of drones, autonomous delivery robots, and parcel lockers. Each of these technologies has its own peculiarities that require careful treatment in order to understand and measure the societal benefits. To this end, the long-term objective of this research program is to investigate the impacts of disruptive technologies in last-mile delivery systems on the businesses, households, and governments through mathematical modeling and data science. The vision of the program is to guide decision makers to proactively act on technological advances to reinforce positive impacts and mitigate their adverse effects. To achieve this overarching goal, various business models will be investigated to improve the current operational practices and to alleviate their societal and environmental adverse impacts. In particular, the short-term objectives of the research program include investigating (1) crowdattendance as a new form of crowdsourcing in last-mile delivery, (2) ultrafast last-mile delivery in the context of 15-minute city, (3) freight mode of public transportation in urban areas, (4) use of autonomous vehicles in last-mile delivery, and (5) alternative fuel technologies on urban city centers.